Hard Knocks
by SwanQueenOnDeck
Summary: Clarke and Lexa enter into the WWE's landscape, hoping to change the status quo. The fastest risers in the circuit, they attempt to break ground in unfamiliar territory, on the biggest stage in the world. Clexa (There will be mentions of fourth wall breaking, kayfabe, issues in the industry itself, and wrestling politics in general).
1. Gorilla Position

**A weird fusion to say the least! Tell me whatcha think! 0:) (Just a disclaimer, I don't own The 100, WWE, or anything commercialized in this work).**

The monumental beginning of Clarke and Lexa's official careers as WWE Superstars didn't hit them in nearly enough time. During her signing, they were abuzz, light with merriment, the childhood dream hidden between fine lines and print. They were brands, commodities, a product, but it was easier living, and the chance to take the world by storm, the opportunity to bring real change to a world that was slowly progressing. This industry, one of the slow movers, would, if Paul Levesque was true to his word, be rocked by the impending storyline of two of the fastest growing stars in professional wrestling.

Of course, they'd have to pay their dues first, but who's to split hairs on the road to making history?

The plane ride was per usual, a casual ride in coach, as Lexa boarded alone, sporting casual attire and aviator sunglasses to evade the suspicious eyes of the super zealous fan, or more accurately, the ever-present paparazzi. Fame wasn't a thing she thought was possible, yet was nothing she feared. Hard work led to this moment, and she was more than ready to rise to the occasion.

Also, the WWE took extra precautions, with their highly intelligent fan base of smarks ("smart marks", or fans of wrestling who knew wrestling was a practiced art, with predetermined endings) who would be scouring the blog pages, and insiders for hints on any information related to the show. Normally, Lexa wouldn't need to be rushed from an unmarked black vehicle, to a plane, just to slip into another unmarked black vehicle. But, they wanted to err on the side of caution. On the other hand, she could be in Clarke's shoes; Clarke was currently either gleefully chatting up execs in Vince McMahon's private jet, or sweating profusely in front of her bosses. Considering her last text she'd sent Lexa, all seemed well.

 _Just got off a private jet :P Still miss ya, Lexa. This is absolutely insane, I keep thinking I'm in the Matrix or something_

 _On my way, just got in the car. And I haven't even thought about it, tbh. Man, they don't want this to be spoiled, do they?_

 _They've just refreshed another dirt sheet website to make sure no one's seen us. Yeah, they're pretty serious._

 _They like us, they really like us!_

 _That they do. You're a creative genius, Lexa. You pitched this all._

 _:) I am the mad genius. Can't wait to see how it turns out. All my love, Clarke. x_

 _All my love, Lexa. o_

* * *

 **Monday Night Raw**

Lacing her boots, Lexa thought the feeling would've hit her by now. As soon as Clarke entered the building, reality hit her, and Lexa would usually be the one chasing her, blocking the front doors, and talking her down, but instead, she had to take a deep breath, and rush to her spot. Unwilling to risk any sightings, Clarke was asked to change into ring gear on the plane, making any finishing touches in the car, be it make up or her hair (obviously with some accommodations).

There she was, in the gorilla position, just waiting for her cue, when her music would hit. Of course, right at that exact moment, Lexa would come running at her, as if her life depended on it.

"Lexa no- we can't-"

"Cameras aren't around," she reassured the blonde with a heavy breath, giving her a once over. "Just, breathe with me, okay? They can wait a second."

"A near billion dollar corporation can wait, for you?" Clarke quirked an eyebrow, amused by Lexa's assuredness.

"They're waiting aren't they?" Lexa indicated, jabbing a thumb at the stage crew, working behind the curtains.

"We're on commercial break, I've got a minute-" Clarke panicked, her fluttering stomach, and racing heart a combination nearly strong enough to send her running back home. Was this even real right now?

"Just, breathe, babe. What would Kevin Owens say right now?"

"He'd tell me to suck it up and stop being a chicken wuss," Clarke replied, with no hesitation. "And he'd say my Australian impressions are God awful."

"Are they really though?" Lexa questioned, feigning the seriousness of a reporter, as she tried not to alert Clarke to the real reason for their stalling, the fast approaching person behind her.

"No, they're amazing, Kevin Owens is just an asshole. Oh my God, he's right behind me, isn't he?"

With a wide grin, reserved for moments like these, Lexa nudged her chin forwards. "Why don't you see for yourself?"

"Oh my God, Kevin Owens!"

Kevin didn't smile, and did his very best to appeared unfazed by Clarke's bear hug, a feat even Lexa had to give him credit for. Not many could fold, and stay in character when Clarke hugged them, that or Lexa had an extreme bias towards the blonde (spoiler alert: Lexa had an extreme bias in favor of Clarke). Yet, he still shook Clarke's hand, when she offered it.

"Welcome to the big leagues kid. I have no idea why you're a fan of me. I'm an asshole to everyone," he admitted, noting Clarke's shaking.

"I think you're an amazing athlete, and an outstanding speaker. Hell, I don't even know if I could even do _this_ -"

"No, don't give me any credit for what you are hoping to achieve out there. I don't know much about it or the details of what's gonna happen, but I'm ready for this new era. I want you to tear down these walls, brick by brick and make your mark. Stand up for what you believe in, and fight for it. Fight for your voice to be here."

His inflection had changed, as Clarke was visibly moved by his words. Yet, unable to stop himself, he had to continue.

"And on that note, I hate your dog."

"I don't have a dog," Clarke replied, slightly confused.

"Well, then, I hate your face. And I hope it gets a new owner one day," Kevin fumbled through an insult, as Clarke beamed at him. She had made it, she'd made it, if Kevin Owens made fun of her. And yes, Lexa thought that was weird, but still, she tracked down the Prizefighter, knowing it would result in this odd sentimentality.

A small burst of electricity ran through her veins after he abruptly left, Clarke's time nearly up.

"Welp, it's do or die time. Kick some ass out there."

"My gear's the wrong color. Black and blue, what was I-?" Clarke began to rant again, Lexa cutting her off for good measure.

"You remind me of Trish Stratus, circa 2003," she complimented, earnestly. Also, Trish Stratus was Clarke's idol. If Trish Stratus wasn't motivational, nor her buddy Kevin Owens, Lexa had nil.

"You really think so?" Clarke awed, her face tinted a slight shade of pink, as Lexa held her hands loosely on the sides of her waist.

"Thirsty seconds to the gorilla position," a stage crew member announced, as Clarke acknowledged them with a quick nod.

"Babe, you're gonna do great," Lexa rushed, sensing Clarke's pressure for time.

"One kiss?" was all Clarke needed to ask, as Lexa's lips immediately pressed to hers, chastely, before she left Clarke to move to her position.

"I'll be right here," Lexa reassured her, standing near one of the television monitors. "May we meet again?"

"May we meet again," Clarke spoke, almost instinctively, as she turned back to pull open the curtain, to what she could almost certainly describe as a blur.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading! For those fans of The 100, a small introduction to wrestling entertainment: obviously, it requires a suspension of disbelief, as it is not real. This story portrays Clarke and Lexa in the realistic setting of their dream job- similar to acting- from their perspective. We'll see backstage drama, politics, twists, turns, and (possibly real?) fights. It's like a soap opera, crashed right into a reality television show, with backyard wrestling mixed in. So, kindof fun xD**

 **For any fans of the WWE, you'll find a lot of references to "insider" terms. This is written from a WWE Superstar perspective, in that they know they are playing a character, and wrestling isn't "real", but people can still get hurt or injured, despite this. If you've never heard of The 100, it's a show set post-apocalyptic world, where nearly everyone dies trying to survive (seriously, if you want to watch the show, prepare for your favorite character to die). If you need a more accurate description of it, I consider it to be "Game of Thrones Lite". DO NOT WATCH THIS SHOW. YOU WILL REGRET IT, AND POSSIBLY CRY.**


	2. Clarke's Debut

Chapter 2: Debuts

Monday Night Raw

The capacity crowd felt a little unsettled after a shaky, but still fulfilling tag team match. Restless as they often were, the WWE crowd had no idea what would be in store for them.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, this match is for the WWE Women's Championship!" Lillian Garcia declared with a smile.

Bayley's theme music echoed throughout the arena, as the audience ate it up, standing to their feet, and cheering on their fan favorite. As per Stephanie McMahon, both the WWE Women's Title, and the Universal Championship would be defended, against brand new contenders. As Finn Bálor, the reigning Champion scouted the Superstars well, he had a small pool of guesses as to know his opponent could be; meanwhile, his ally Bayley was completely caught off guard. The new talent in NXT called up seemed impossible to choose from, who was she going to face?

"Introducing the challenger…"

As the chorus to "New Romantics" bellowed overhead, Clarke pulled back the curtain to a deafening crowd pop: surprising to her, much of the crowd recognized her from NXT. She could hear Cole and the announce team, even in her state of almost awe. For a second, Clarke had to take in the beauty of the crowd, the feeling akin to a walking day dream.

"Oh my, it's-!" Cole nearly shrieked into his microphone as he yelled in surprise.

"From Arkadia in Washington DC, Clarke Griffin!"

With a smirk at the camera, Clarke ran to the ring, leaving the announce team and Lillian to introduce her.

"The Sky Princess has arrived in WWE, ladies and gentleman!" Corey Graves finished for him. "NXT's hottest Superstar has finally been called up to the big leagues, and if you're at home watching for the first time, boy, you're in for a treat!"

"Absolutely, without a doubt," Cole agreed, taking Graves talking points to talk up Clarke. "This Superstar has participated in some classic NXT matches, including the match that apparently brought her to the dance!"

While she hopped on a turnbuckle to strike a pose, taking turns on each ring post to do so, Corey elaborated on that match in particular, one where real life literally did imitate art.

"Yeah, Clarke's last NXT match was a Ladder Match instated by the CEO, Triple H himself, and the winner was promised a WWE contract! Who would've thought that would also include a shot at the WWE Women's Championship? I mean this is an opportunity of a lifetime! Let's just hope Clarke Griffin can reign her nerves in, and bring home the Championship. From watching her grow on NXT, I can say, she is definitely capable at this level to upset the Champion."

"The high flyer, against the hugger it seems!" Cole joked, as Bayley's music hit, to a roaring crowd. As Bayley made her entrance, Clarke took the moment to take a breath, kneeling in the right most corner ring post, dedicating her match to her father, Jake Griffin, who she knew was watching from a better place. This was her dream, and while her late father wasn't there with her, she always brought him with her, marking her wrestling tape on her wrists with his initials. If it wasn't for the support and love of her parents, Clarke couldn't imagine being here right now.

Noting the sentimental gesture, Corey indicated this to the audience at home, as many people naturally loved Bayley, but this would also endear Clarke to the crowd, and make her more apparent as a "face", or a good guy.

"Guys, this is something a little different, but if you notice in the ring, Clarke is kneeling. Many people know one of her biggest influences in her career was her supportive father, and unfortunately he passed when she was a teenager, but I can tell you as a fact, she dedicates each and every match to him. I have to say, regardless of the result of the match, he would most definitely be proud of his girl in this ring tonight."

"Words never truer spoken," Cole agreed. "Clarke will admit herself, she was "Daddy's Little Girl", imagine how proud he'd be to see his daughter, a WWE Superstar, become the Women's Champion!"

"And she's got a shot!" Graves hyped, as the crowd swelled with enthusiasm for the impending match. "She just has to overcome the very lovable, but tough as nails Bayley!"

An iconic face off ensued, as the two girls locked eyes, then observed the crowd watching them. Conflicted, members of the audience were undecided in who they wanted to cheer for. Wasn't there always a "good" guy facing a "bad" guy? Who was the bad guy when you wanted them to both win?

The answer? No one.

Bayley was the odds on favorite, as the reigning title holder and defending Champion. Still the audience was left with a little bit of mystery, and mystic. After all, who was this Clarke Griffin, and how good _was_ she, to have her debut in a title match?

Despite having no contact before the match, once Clarke won her Ladder Match, and knew her fate in the company, she was soon informed of her lengthy storyline, starting with the Women's Championship. When they were sure of the match, Clarke and Bayley exchanged numbers, and came up with the idea of swapping moves to hype up the crowd. This was only the beginning of a long journey, if Triple H was a man of his word.

At Clarke's suggestion, she stretched a hand out to offer a handshake, a sign to the fans that this would be a respectful fight, always a nice gesture and a good storytelling device. Bayley, ever the hugger accepted it, opting out of the hug to present a focused, mature Champion at the moment.

The high spots of their match included the very first collar and elbow tie up, leading to an intricate set of moves they'd agreed on, moves they shared in their repertoire to tell the story of an evenly balanced fight, to the unaware members of the audience. An arm drag, led to a matching arm drag, a tackle for a tackle, one dropkick to another. As they looked to the WWE Universe in opposing directions, they presented the question, could there be a winner in this match? What if they were too evenly matched?

"What did we just see there?" she could Graves awe, marveling at the fast paced action in the ring, leading to a stalemate.

"A battle of the minds, I'd think," Cole replied quietly, letting a beat pass. "They say great minds think alike, I believe that's what we just saw."

More the submission specialist, Clarke, the high flyer would be grounded by Bayley's strategy, and endurance.

Quickly attempting a schoolboy, Clarke got a quick one count, before Bayley powered out; in this match, Bayley had the definite power advantage.

The match, a solid four in tempo, rapidly increased to a solid eleven. Bayley attempted a swing, ducked by Clarke as she launched a springboard off the ropes, grabbing Bayley's head as she fell for a neckbreaker. Bayley in turn, played possum, knowing Clarke would combine this by a rebound off the ropes elbow drop, leading to a pin. Rolling away from the elbow drop, Bayley ran to the ropes, whipping herself off them to land a jumping knee drop on Clarke. Attempting a pin, Clarke kicked out valiantly at an early 2 count.

As Bayley lifted her, signaling to Clarke she let out some of her well-known moves, she whipped Clarke across the ropes to jump over her, as Clarke rebounded, slowing her momentum to catch Bayley in a reverse DDT. Again, "looking to the sky" as Corey commented, Cole indicated one of Clarke's moves, as she dragged Bayley towards a corner. As she set up for the Split Legged Moonsault, (a move she dubbed "The Dropship", alluding to John Morrison's "Starship Pain") the Champion rolled over, forcing Clarke to land safely on her feet. Bayley rolled to safety outside the ring, or so she thought, as Clarke exited the ring onto the apron, running down it to execute a jumping kick ("Stargazing"), a beating thud louding ringing across Bayley's chest (though, the ring announcers would emphasize damage to Bayley's chest and throat).

This would lead to a commercial break, where in the shuffle, Bayley would regain momentum of the matchup. Anticipating Clarkes "nerves" in storyline as she was the greener fighter, she would slow down Clarke's pace, the announcers pointing out Clarke's missed chance by taking her time outside, to go for an easy cover of the Campion. As she was Irish whipped into a corner, Bayley exploded back to execute a running double axe handle, not once, twice, but three times, as she returned the favor by Irish whipping Clarke in the opposite corner, to execute a shoulder tackle to the gut, as she rolled backwards to top it off with a high running elbow to Clarke's face. As Clarke was recovering, Bayley quickly ran to the ropes to complete her combination with a definitive bulldog.

With an authorative pin, the crowd was meant to believe this was a done deal, that the newcomer Clarke, was set down, with a slight hiccup, by the Champ. Calling the count with the referee, the fans called a long two count, as Bayley shook her head, not yet deterred by the challenger. Going back to work, she attempted to lift Clarke, feigning dead weight, who pulled her into a cradle pin.

Calling another close count, Bayley popped out of the move at a late two, rolling out of dodge, and charging at the standing Clarke, who baited her into a drop toe hold. Adamant, Bayley popped up again, swinging at Clarke, who was highlighting the building frustration of the Champion. Executing the "Matrix", a tribute to her hero Trish Stratus, Clarke made a bridge out of harm's way. Properly scouting the move, Bayley kicked the back of Clarke's leg, stunting her momentum, as she grabbed her in a bearhug, teasing the "Bayley-to Belly-Suplex". Swinging her legs out (aided by Bayley's momentum to achieve the devastating look of the hold) Clarke drove Bayley's face to the mat, a move stylized from Dolph Ziggler's Reverse Leaping STO, and her Finisher, "Down to Earth".

"Oh what a move, Bayley's gotta be done after this!" Michael Cole announced, with a slight lift in his voice, a mixture of surprise and adrenaline for the finish of his match.

"And Clarke calls that "Down to Earth", her lethal finishing maneuver! Guys, we have a new champion here!" Corey exclaimed, as the referee began the count.

"ONE! TWO!" the crowd chanted, as the roof nearly came off when Bayley emphatically kicked out at the last millisecond.

Surprised beyond belief, Clarke backed into a corner, clutching her hair, unsure of what to do next. That was her heaviest blow, what could she do next? The crowd empathized with her, stunned into small chatter, almost silence, as she tried to regroup. Picking up Bayley to perform any relative offensive move she backed her into a corner, lifting her legs to perch her on the top turnbuckle to attempt a hurricanrana. As Clarke backed away, executing the handstand, Bayley caught her legs, flipping them over. Awkward, but able to gain footing, Clarke reached for Bayley, who tugged her into the corner turnbuckle. With a few punches, (not many were thrown between the two in this bout to suggest their mutual respect for one another) Bayley propped Clarke where she previously was, as the crowd sensed the end.

"Oh no…" Corey warned, calling the move from a mile away.

"She can't do this, she'll break the kid's back! This is Clarke's debut match!"

"But Bayley's going for it!" Graves ominously announced, as Bayley locked in the bearhug, executing a "Bayley-to-Belly Suplex" from the top rope.

"This match is over!" Cole yelled out, his voice almost hoarse from calling the intense action of the match.

"The Champion has successfully defended the Championship!" Graves agrees, as the referee confidently counts.

"ONE! TWO! THR-!"

"Oh my God!" Graves shouts. "I've never seen that before in my life!"

"Is this Clarke Griffin for real? What amazing ring presence, just barely getting a foot on the ropes!" Cole praised, the adrenaline rushing through the announce team, as well as the audience, switching between the non tv-friendly chant "HOLY SHIT!", "Let's go Griffin", and "THIS IS AWESOME!"

Bayley was beside herself, and losing her patience. Rolling Clarke over again, she attempted another pin, of which Clarke barely kicked out of, at a late two. Frustrated, Bayley let out a vocal growl, before hunkering down. She had to focus to win, a point the announcers made to indicate.

"Don't get cocky now, Bayley, you'll let the title slip if you don't focus on your opponent tonight," Corey warned, as Cole noted the action in the ring, as Bayley dragged Clarke to a corner, to introduce a new move to her repertoire.

Setting up for the Houston hangover, she took a minute to stabilize herself, before she launched off the top rope, for Clarke to roll away at the last second. Playing possum, Clarke gingerly ran to the nearest ropes, ricocheting off them and dropkicking Bayley in the face. With her opponent down, Clarke went for the Finisher she attempted at the start of her match, "The Dropship", this time landing the Split-Legged Moonsault.

"She dodged it! Clarke hits the Split Legged Moonsault!" Corey Graves yelped, marveling at Clarke's execution of her top rope finisher. "This has to be it!"

"I believe that's what she calls The Dropship, Corey, and I think she's pulled the upset of the century! Here's the cover!"

The crowd, restless from the near fall counts were resolute, ready to riot if the new kid who just blew their minds did not win, even if it was the Superstar for and by the people, Bayley. She deserved it, and the audience was seeing just why she earned her spot so quickly.

"ONE! TWO! THREE!"

"WE HAVE A NEW WOMEN'S CHAMPION! WE HAVE A NEW WOMEN'S CHAMPION!" Cole's voice roared throughout the arena, as a shocked Clarke leaned down to thank Bayley quickly, (something she kept hidden from the crowd as she hovered over the former Champion) before accepting her title.

"The former Champion, what a valiant fighter," Graves commended, as slowly, but surely, Bayley returned to her footing, rather obviously upset with herself.

Yet, due to her character, she couldn't stay mad. In an unlikely showing, Bayley hesitated, holding her hips and shaking her head at herself. Clarke tonight was the better person, and a worthy opponent. Knowing Bayley's gimmick, Clarke held out her arms to offer a hug, as Bayley waited, letting the crowd guess her next move.

Giving it a moment, the fans urged a hug, and when it came, the two performers received a pop louder than the match's finish.

"This has gotta be the biggest show of respect from Bayley. It was a tough loss, but we have a new Champion, Cole! And it's a safe bet Bayley will be coming after that title soon!"

 **So, Clarke's debut goes off without a hitch! Where the heck is Lexa to celebrate?**

 **Previews for what's coming:**

 **Lexa's debut! (Her theme is "Throne" by Bring Me The Horizon"!)**

 **A shocking reveal, as a new Superstar debuts, leading to an upset!**

 **Lighting issues…?**

" **So, what you wanna be the Women's Champion now?" Sami Zayn asked, flustered at Kevin's ever changing life goals.**

" **Uh, YEAH Have you met me? A title's a title, I'll fight anyone!" Kevin Owens barked, as if this was the most obvious question in the world.**


	3. Meanwhile, Backstage

**Monday Night Raw**

"What the hell!" Triple H roared, as he examined the scene he was pulled into, Clarke watching nervously over the monitor. She'd wondered why Lexa didn't show up post-match to congratulate her, and check Clarke for bruises. Most Superstars took their jobs seriously, but there were detractors. Lexa almost outright refused to wrestle Ontari when she learned that she dropped Clarke sloppily while executing a simple hip toss.

"Who the hell did this? I want the man or woman responsible for this found, I'll have their heads!" the WWE CEO bellowed, as Clarke looked on, watching the television in half worry. Lexa wasn't really… was she?

The cameraman moved from Triple H's side to reveal Lexa sprawled out, seemingly unconscious. As a means of celebrating the massive strides in the Women's Division in such a short time, he called up Lexa to face Ontari in a one on one singles match. Sensing their natural tension, stemming from real life animosity, Triple H sought to end their feud in the ring. Thing was, someone had already beat her to it, attacking Lexa in the locker room with a steel chair.

"I'm not gonna-" he flustered, attempting to compose himself in front of the medical team, before fuming again, and stalking off in the opposite direction, heading to the arena.

"Oh my! I don't think I've ever seen the WWE's CEO this angry before!" Corey indicated, as the cameraman had to speed walk to keep up with Triple H's pace.

"Lexa was Triple H's odds on favorite! He wanted to showcase her tonight, and on her debut night, she's attacked before she can compete!" Cole replied, in mock outrage.

"It's an awful shame, Cole, but here he comes, and I pity the man or woman that tries to stop him tonight!" Graves answered, slightly perturbed by the boss' no nonsense demeanor.

Stomping through the ring, Triple H has an obvious vendetta, as he makes a quick entrance, followed hastily by his wife Stephanie, to discourage any rash decisions.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Stephanie warned, holding up a finger to encourage him to ease up, and relax, before he blew a gasket.

"No, Stephanie! ONTARI, YOU DID THIS!" the boss confronts her, as she gulps heavily. Jumping on the apron to enter the ring, Prince Roan attempts to plead her case, indicating that she was in the ring, and before then was nowhere near Lexa.

For her part, Stephanie didn't expect a reaction this big from her husband, but then she remembered Lexa was his favorite project. Hell, the crowd didn't even know her, and they hated Ontari at this point because of him.

Whispering in his ear to give the audience the impression that she'd gotten ahold of the situation, and saw fit to punish the Ice Nation stable.

"Be that as it may, next week, Lexa will make her debut next week, in a singles match against you, Ontari! And you Roan, well… maybe you didn't know about this, maybe you told your sister to go after Lexa, because you knew she couldn't beat her fair and square in a match," Stephanie stated, letting the crowd's "ooo's" paint across Prince Roan's features.

"I think I underestimated ya Roan," Triple H pretends to muse, as he mulls over Stephanie's proposed punishment, mustering all the vocals he could to hype the impending match.

"Here I thought you were, just a simple competitor, the Prince of Az- who gives a s***, sure. But now I know you're a coward, and you and your partner will be exposed soon enough! Ontari, you're not going home yet, you _will_ have a match tonight, against the Warrior, Octavia! And while I will personally take a seat to watch her hand your ass to you, Roan, I hope you'll be warming up in the back, buddy! Because you, you're gonna be facing Finn Bálor for the WWE Universal Title!"

At this, the crowd cheers initially for Finn, but the joy dies quickly. Finn of course could handily beat Roan, but this was the opportunity of a lifetime. Why were they rewarding Roan for his bad behavior?

Roan, at this nods slowly, unsure of what to make of what's transpired, as he looked on, vigilantly.

"And you won't only be facing the WWE Universal Champ, Roan, Stephanie spoke with slight inflection, to express her distaste, "you'll be facing another opponent, of our choosing, let's just call it, a surprise opponent, who knows you _very_ well. Tonight's main event, is a No Disqualification Triple Threat Match!"

"Woah, Prince Roan being placed in tonight's Main Event, now being made a Triple Threat Match!"

"Wow Cole, what did he do to get so lucky? Or maybe it's more accurate to say, what did he do to land him in this mess! Either way, Prince Roan has the opportunity of a lifetime to bring home the WWE Universal Title tonight!"

* * *

"The following contest is scheduled for one fall, and it is for the WWE Universal Championship!"

Finn Bálor strode to the ring, high on confidence. A new day, a new challenger for the title, but much like his best friend Bayley, he was a fighting champ. He'd take on any and all comers.

"Introducing first, from Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland, weighing 190 pounds, he is the WWE Universal Champion, Finn Bálor!"

The ominous Grounder Anthem echoed throughout the arena, meant to intimidate the opponents.

"And the challenger, being accompanied by Ontari, from Azgeda, Canada, weighing 168 pounds, Prince Roan!"

"…And the opponent…"

Immediately, the TitanTron shut down, and the lights cut out. The fans instantly deduced, this was bad for either challenger! Lights out, no music? Was it the Deadman? The Undertaker?

When the lights turned back on, shrouded in a dark black cloak, a presence appeared outside the ring. The timekeep waited a beat, as the nameless Superstar refused to move, uncertain as to how they should continue; usually contenders were patted down for storylines, in the least, they were all announced. In their headpiece however, Triple H demanded they bypass this entity, and start the match.

Ringing the bell, Prince Roan and Finn went to work, as if this were a singles match, as Clarke watched the match with interest backstage. Previously informed of Lexa's physical condition and the non-severity of her injuries she sustained, Clarke was able to relax a bit after a few matches to settle down enough to watch the Main Event. Lexa reassured her that she was fine, via text, joking around in the Trainer's Room backstage, but urged her not to leave, so they could at least celebrate Clarke's victory tonight.

With the knowledge that her girlfriend was safe, and watching the show herself, Clarke tuned in, but honestly wasn't impressed.

In her opinion, Prince Roan fought like a big guy, despite being the size of a Cruiserweight. His defined muscles made him look more intimidating than Finn, but he had all the speed of an ice cube melting in negative degree weather. He made Finn look awful with his basic move-set along with it, big boots being a high spot for him, simple punches, and overdone heel tactics, like rolling out of the ring to recover after Finn just landed a massive overhead kick. Then again, when Lexa pulled the same moves, she didn't half mind. At least Lexa had a personality.

Once more the show was having issues with the lighting, as her lights flickered, as all of them did in the arena, and for a few seconds, they stayed lit until permanently shutting down.

It was a long beat, but while the lights were off, Clarke heard, twice, a sharp rapt of a hard object. Lo and behold, when she woke up, both Finn, and oddly Ontari were down, seemingly felled by the mystery opponent. As the Superstar stood wordlessly in the middle of the ring, Roan, curious, ran into the ring to challenge them, only to run into a sledgehammer blow, as the mystery opponent knocked him out.

Tossing away the weapon, the hooded figure quickly went for the cover, as Cole and Graves called the action, stunned by the events, but Clarke wasn't nearly as interested in that, as figuring out how the hell Triple H could've fit into such a small costume.

Decisively, the referee counted a thunderous three count along with the audience, as the bell rang, and the hooded man revealed themselves to be… well, not Triple H, to Clarke's annoyance. Yet, she was okay with the alternative, despite being wrong. Actually, Clarke was beyond pleased to know that the new Champion was at least not Prince Roan, or Heath Slater.

"Wait a minute- That's- Is that?-" Michael Cole shrieked, urging the audience to take a clear look at the new Champion, someone they had already just met.

"Are you seeing what I'm seeing, Cole?" Graves questioned, in genuine disbelief.

Their reactions, usually meant to hype the crowd for finishes that were predetermined in this case, was very real. The finish to Monday Night Raw was only disseminated to the participants, along with Stephanie McMahon and Triple H. While Cole and Graves knew how the match would end, they had no previous knowledge as to who was honestly under the cloak, so their responses were authentic, something the WWE executives hoped to achieve.

"Throne" by Bring Me The Horizon played overhead, as Lillian emphatically announced a new champion crowned.

"Here is your winner, and the _new_ WWE Universal Champion, Lexa!"

As she watched her girlfriend reveal a smirk, cranking her neck from side to side to indicate that she was actually fine, Clarke was torn between being supportive, and stomping a mudhole in Lexa and letting it dry for not telling her about this.

"We thought she was injured and taken out of commission, but somehow, Lexa got herself placed in the Championship match by Triple H, and Stephanie McMahon and made away with the WWE Universal Championship!"

"Cole, it was a No Disqualification match. Anything was legal in this match, and Lexa did what she needed to, and came out of it the first Women to ever hold the WWE Universal Championship, ever!" Graves defended.

Regardless of the commentary team bashing on Lexa, she still looked like Taylor Swift winning an award once she was handed the Title. Much like proud parents, Triple H and Stephanie came out from ringside, clapping, to congratulate her.

"Oh look, it's the co-conspirators, cheering for Lexa," Cole jeered, as Clarke chose to find him annoying. Actually, he truly was annoying to her, but she met him in real life, and he was rather nice, but still. If she had to ever hear him say "Vintage Orton" in a match she may just stop the entire thing to give him an #rkoouttanowhere.

Not really, but Clarke could have dreams, right?

But seriously, how could her girlfriend not tell her she was going to become the first ever female WWE Champion? Was that grounds for a break up? Celebration sex?

Holding his arms out, grandiosely, to further incite the crowd's anger over Finn's loss of a title, as well as Roan's innocence, and learning that this was all an inside job, the crowd rained heavy boos on Lexa, as well as her corporate partners while they hugged in the ring. That was fine with Clarke, as she knew it wouldn't be long until they cheered her again. Lexa could literally tell the crowd that she wished they spent their money on fifty packs of Oreos instead paying for a ticket to see John Cena win against all odds for the nine millionth time, (she'd say ruder things, but she's a little more censored now) and the crowd would just love her.

"I've got to say, never a better plan was made, Stephanie and Triple H came out here to shake up the WWE Universe, and I think we've all just experienced an earthquake! New Champions, new rivalries, and history has been made, more than once tonight Cole!" Corey gushed, reminding the audience of the action packed night, along with its potential future consequences.

"We have a new WWE Universal Champion!" Cole shouted, over the now raucous crowd, disgusted at Lexa holding up the Championship with a defiant smile, her bosses at each side of her, applauding. "The most devious and calculating Superstar I have ever witnessed, has made her mark in the WWE, and I don't think anyone will ever be able to forget it!"

 **So Lexa and Clarke are Champions of the world! Obviously, that's not gonna endear them to the locker room much. Not a lot of Superstars are happy with the end of the show, including one of the participants in the main event. Is trouble on the way for Clexa?**

 **Here's what's next!**

" **Oh Florida, you stopped being relevant after the 2000 Presidential election. Remember that, before you boo, because the rest of the world is laughing at you," Lexa snapped back at the crowd, smiling cockily, as the crowd didn't instantly jeer her, but was stunned almost to silence.**

" **The WWE Universe is in a state of chaos, I tell ya!" John Cena barked. "Michael Cole is the number one contender for the WWE Universal Championship, and someone hacked my Xbox live account! Utter tyranny!"**

" **Kevin, I think we need couple's therapy," Sami replied, his words tired, and full of more truth than he'd like to admit. "I feel like every time we see each other, it's like Peter Griffin and the guy in the chicken suit."**

 **The Miz sounds off on MizTV! His segment will break the barrier between kayfabe and an unscripted work.**

 **You get a montage, you get a montage! Expect some highlights of Clarke's career leading to her title win.**

 **Lexa will have some bad company, but she will also be given the opportunity to face one of the biggest names in the WWE, and voices the many grievances of the WWE Universe to them, in a heartfelt manner.**

 **If you've noticed, Lexa is a** _ **huge**_ **fan of Triple H. Expect to see some heel moves from some classic baddies in Lexa's matches.**


	4. The Aftermath

**WWE: The Aftermath**

"Finn, Finn!" Renee called out, in an attempt to gain some solace for the fans, and gather intel as to what the WWE Universe just witnessed.

He stopped, still sweating from the efforts of his match, appearing a bit displeased to say the least, and very obviously frustrated.

"Yeah?" Finn replied, gingerly returning to the reporter, despite his pent up emotions about the results.

"The WWE Universe needs to know, what just happened out there?"

She couldn't have asked a worse question, at a more inconvenient time. Deadpanning, Finn considered yelling, but remembered, this wasn't about him, this was Lexa's story.

"To be honest, I couldn't tell ya. I got my bell rung, and we have a new WWE Universal Champion. I've no clue what just happened, I just wanna make my way back to my locker, because I am a bit frustrated. This isn't how I expected the match to end at all. Tonight just… wasn't my night," he finished with pursed lips, as Renee nods, silently granting him leave.

Listening to her earpiece, Renee waits a beat, before addressing the audience again.

"Well, that's word from the former WWE Universal Champion. I've been told that the new Champion has already left the building, and has been sighted around town! What a night guys, history has truly been made," she signed off, with a bright smile.

Holding out her phone as she watched the podcast, Lexa had to smile at the fallout herself. First order of business, turn the WWE Universe upside down. Step 2?

Celebrate.

"Finn looks pissed," Clarke observed, having watched the video side by side her partner, their hands innocently laced together.

"He's not. The locker room bit was last minute, but he was cool with it," Lexa explained, looking around for people casually passing by. "You sure this is a good idea?"

"Hitting up a bar after we win the two top titles in the WWE? I'd hope not," Clarke joked, wrapping her arms around Lexa's neck, and softly kissing her. "What's wrong? I thought it'd be a good idea to endear ourselves to the Nashville crowd."

"I kindof like the whole, method acting deal, babe. I'm a bad guy, gotta keep with the schtick," Lexa murmured, with a small tug on Clarke's flannel shirt. True, they were in normal civilian attire, but anyone in the arena tonight could spot them, and while Clarke reveled in the appreciation and support of the fans, her girlfriend saw it as a nerve wracking experience, that could only get worse as their names grew in the company.

"What if I told you this is partly a business meeting, and that I'm asking you to come to with me?" Clarke asked, batting her eyes, pleading.

"I'd say I wish you'd have told me earlier," the brunette began, stopping when she remembered she was talking to Clarke Griffin.

"Oh, yeah, like you told me about all of this earlier, right, Ms. WWE Universal Champ?"

"I- I was put on the spot, and you liked that surprise! Much like I'd hope you like the surprise I'd like to give you later on?"

Ready with a rebuttal, Clarke had to pause to consider what her girlfriend just said, before grinning, like the true heel she was. Once she'd come to the realization, she feigned insult, while Lexa looked as if she was on the verge of another completely rewarding- however different- victory.

"You- you're such a dog, Lexa, you're still in the doghouse!" Clarke swatted at her, as Lexa, still smiling like an idiot, held her waist leaning in.

"C'mon, don't stay mad at me… I'll let you touch the belt."

"I don't wanna," Clarke lied, in a whining tone.

"… I'll sing one song for karaoke," Lexa conceded. Puppy eyed Clarke was no joke. One simply could not reject those Griffin welling eyes.

"That's it?"

Clarke was pushing the bar, and she knew it. But she was also confident in Lexa, and knew that while her girlfriend wasn't the biggest fan of public places, soon, she'd have to fight crowds to make her way through an airport if she didn't set the tone early on how she wanted to be presented to the outside world. This advice was given to her from the most reliable source she could think of, one of the most in demand Superstars, if not the most in demand man on the roster. That same person, was who she was expecting to meet tonight.

"And I'll take some selfies with fans. _Some_. And if _any_ of them end up on Ebay tomorrow-"

"The sun will still shine, the earth will keep spinning, and you'll have gotten laid the night before. Am I right?" Clarke cheekily replied, with an evil grin of her own.

Affronted, Lexa took a page out of her girlfriend's book, clutching a hand to her chest, insulted.

"And you think I'm bad?" she accused, with a quirky eyebrow.

"Oh no, you're the worst," Clarke teased, taking her girlfriend's hand to lead her inside the building. As Lexa followed, laying a protective hand on Clarke's right side, she gently rubbed the soft skin under her shirt.

Under the guise of nuzzling her neck, Lexa softly murmured, for only Clarke to hear, "Still hurts, babe?"

"Not too much," the blonde winced, despite herself. "Bayley was really careful about it, though; she hardly even touched it."

"Mmm," Lexa affirmed, positively. To Clarke, this meant that she was cool with the former WWE Women's Champ. "That who we meeting tonight?"

"No, I don't think you'd even believe me if I told you, so I have to show you," Clarke perked up, her peppiness gaining a second wind.

"Well, now I'm scared," Lexa deadpanned, stopping in her tracks. Feeling Lexa's weight having shifted off of her, and walking alone, Clarke turned back to retrieve her anxious lover.

"I promise you, you want to meet them, and then afterwards we can go home!" she reassured her, reaching again for Lexa's hand, as her girlfriend immediately pulled her in for a deep kiss. As they pulled away, Lexa's nose gently nudging hers, Clarke's face flushed slightly from the contact; Lexa always had this effect on her, to this day. Together, they were no better than two teenagers, without a care in the world.

"I'm so fucking lucky," the new WWE Champion breathed, feeling the pride of a lion, king of the entire food chain. "I love you so much, Clarke. And, you're right. We deserve tonight, as champions."

Bubbling from her girlfriend's newfound enthusiasm, Clarke held her arms on Lexa's shoulders encouragingly.

"I think I'm the lucky one here."

"The lucky ones," Lexa countered, with a goofy smile. "What a tag team we'll make."

"We are the Champions, my friends," Clarke began to sing, knowing that everyone in the world knew this song, and there was never a more appropriate time to sing it.

"Oh, God…"

"And we'll keep on fighting till the end…!"

"I can't believe I agreed to this."

* * *

"No place for losers, 'cause we are the champions, of the world!" Clarke sang along with the happy go lucky, albeit drunk crowd.

Taking a small sip of her drink, Clarke held out her drink to the crowd, before starting her small speech.

"First off, I wanna say you guys have all been amazing tonight! It's been one of the best nights of my life, and I'm so happy to have spent it with the fans. Please drink responsibly tonight, tip your bartenders, finish your drinks, and enjoy your night! I love you all!"

As she handed back the microphone to the stage hand, taking another sip of her drink, Clarke looked for Lexa in the sea of people, chatting up another bar attendee, to her amusement. Unbeknownst to her, someone was witnessing the exchange from the moment she set eyes on her girlfriend.

Taking a large gestured bow as she made her way back to the bar, an impressed Lexa clapping slowly for her, Clarke gave her a peck on the cheek, before settling herself on her lap.

"Thank you, babe," she cooed, as Lexa introduced her to a girl wearing sunglasses, a jersey, shorts, and a backwards snapback hat.

"So, I was telling this kind lady here, that _you_ are the new WWE Women's Champion, and a two-time karaoke Champ. She says you've got this in the bag!"

"Oh, did you?" Clarke purred, knowing exactly who the mystery woman was, and nearly ready to laugh that Lexa couldn't realize who this was.

"Mhm," Lexa beamed, kissing Clarke firmly on the cheek.

"I can't wait to get back to the hotel," she whispered into Clarke's ear, and for a half second, Clarke considered cancelling this meeting.

Seriously. Was it that important?

 _Lexa's career, though._

Oh, fuck, it was.

"You guys are too sweet," the stranger gushed, watching the girls interact with a piqued interest.

"I'm sorry, we're a bit couple-y," Lexa apologized, as Clarke looked up at her, ready to move off her lap, if prompted.

"No, it's fine. I can't believe I'm sitting with the WWE Women's Champion, and the WWE Universal Champion at the same time, in the same room! I mean this is amazing, did you guys predict this would happen?"

"Uh…" Clarke stalled, unsure if this was a genuine question, then, remembering the terms of this rendezvous, trusted Lexa to come up with some really good kayfabe bullshit, because she smelled a mark.

Plus, it would be fun to see Lexa's face once she learned she was talking to Nikki Bella, not some doe eyed fangirl.

"Well," Lexa prepared herself, taking a deep breath to find her inner heel persona. "I'd like to think that things happen for a reason. I'm the best in that locker room, and the whole world's gonna learn that pretty soon. If I can beat up Finn Bálor, I can do it to Randy Orton, John Cena. Those guys don't wanna fac,e, me I'll embarrass them."

"Wait, you're gonna face John Cena? Tell me! Is that happening next week?" Nikki continued, playing dumb as Clarke didn't trust herself not to laugh, and covered her mouth.

"Well, I can't predict the future…" Lexa pretended to muse, considering a thought, and snapping her fingers quickly.

"…But, I am an Aquarius, and my horoscope was pretty accurate this week."

Lexa actually hated horoscopes and was mocking Nikki, who didn't get the joke.

"Oh my gosh, you believe in them too? Oh, tell me my horoscope, here, read my hand!" the twin excited responded, jutting out her hand for Lexa to read.

Taking the bait, Lexa hesitantly took her hand, and squinted. Like much of the world, it looked like a normal palm, flesh, a shape that looked like an 'M' (didn't that mean she'd live long?) and a slight pink color to it.

"Hmm," Lexa considered, wondering if she should unleash her monster heel character. The girl seemed nice, but the brunette worried this was either a serial killer or a swinger, and she was still rating high on Lexa's crazy meter.

Clarke could only sit back and laugh, as she watched her girlfriend fumble through a response, slightly irked that the blonde wasn't the jealous type for once.

"So uh, this line," she indicates, "this says you'll live a long and prosperous life. I see no problems, if you're careful on the roads, and-"

Feeling a slight roughness to the girl's hand, Lexa unconsciously turned it over, then back again. Pausing for a second, she thought of a remark, before continuing.

"I see wedding bells in your near future. Someone's going to make you really happy in the near future, really, _really_ happy," she softly concluded, before releasing the woman's hand, politely.

Playfully, Clarke then extended her hand. "Wanna read my palm, hon?"

Taking her hand with a cocky, lopsided grin, Lexa traced the sharpest appearing line in the middle of Clarke's palm, eliciting a giggle from the blonde.

"See this line here?"

"Yeah," Clarke looked, knowing nothing was really there, and her girlfriend was merely putting on a show.

"That one means you've got a big, strong heart, and you're a fighter. You're gonna overcome all of your obstacles in life, and fight love with hate. According to this, you'll always be the champion."

"Aww…" Clarke cooed, placing a hand over her heart.

"This line here," Lexa circled, "Is the love line. In the very near future, you're going to have amazing… _feuds_."

"Amazing… feuds?" Clarke tilted her head, feigning naiveté. Of course, there was one thing on the Champ's mind. Well, at least Lexa remembered they had company.

" _Mind blowing_ ," her girlfriend clarified, making a popping gesture with her hands, as she smirked mischievously at Clarke.

"Excuse me ladies," the incomparable voice of John Cena rang in their ears, as he approached them. "I hope I didn't interrupt your night, I was just wondering if you wouldn't mind if I bought you all a drink."

"John Cena," Lexa slowly worded, properly introducing him, as Clarke looked on patiently. "Never thought I'd see you in a gay bar."

"I honestly don't really have a good reputation with the community," John admitted, with some reluctance. "I've said some things in my day that were… problematic."

"Some?" Lexa challenged, as Clarke's eyes widened, sending her a warning glare. "You just approached three women, in the comforts of a gay bar, asking if they want a drink. That doesn't sound problematic to you?"

"Well… seeing as you two have been newly crowned Champions, and that woman… there," John pointed out, as Nikki lifted her sunglasses to reveal herself, "is my wife, I'd hoped it would come off as a polite gesture."

"Aw, thank you John Cena," Clarke thoughtfully replied, as Lexa bit her tongue back, having been tricked, and placed in the inconvenient position of owing someone she didn't like too much an apology.

"Please, call me John," he replied, slightly humbled by the new Superstar fangirling.

"Sorry, I get that a lot," Lexa mumbled, as Cena waved it off.

"Not at all, please accept my apology, and sincerest request to only have a drink to celebrate the dawn of a new era. Hunter's really high on you," he dotes, Clarke noting his genuine tone.

"And I have no problem taking a backseat to propel new talent to the next level. When I heard about it, I had to meet you guys. That segment was unlike anything I've ever been in, in my entire career in the WWE. It was masterful. And if we're gonna work a program, I want it to be bar none, the best. I want to build you to be the future of this company."

With those words, Cena held up four fingers, and tapped the counter, indicating he was buying a round of drinks.

"They're not scared I'm too small?" Lexa wondered earnestly, as she looked to her girlfriend. "And what about Clarke?"

As he took his cap off, glancing at Nikki, then at Clarke, he sighed.

"I'm gonna give it to you straight, they want Clarke to drop the belt at Hell In a Cell, two months later. She's, in their view, a transitional Champion."

"Oh," Clarke spoke, without meaning to, shutting her mouth immediately.

"No, no. That wasn't part of the deal, that's not how we operate-" Lexa argued, her temper beginning to flare.

"We can pitch something much better to them. If you make Nikki look good, she can retain the belt, have it for five months, and a Wrestlemania win. That is, by far, one of the best records in the WWE."

"Hunter told us he'd consider a Wrestlemania feud, our feud. What happened to all of that?" Clarke chimed in, as a newly informed Nikki leaned in, eager to learn the news on that.

"Vince is… being difficult. Because Lexa is new, and all due respect, a woman, Vince is scared for the prospects. He doesn't think anyone wants to see The Miz get his ass kicked by you. They think it'll hurt the brand and the integrity of the sport."

"And how does The Miz feel about all of this?" Lexa asked, mockingly, as Clarke folded her arms. Neither of them were big fans of him, but if he protested, they were ready to rally a locker room mutiny if need be.

"He agrees," John quietly responded, as their drinks were placed in front of them. Taking his shot quickly, he continued.

"I know you don't want to work Wrestlemania with Clarke, Lexa," he stated, as Clarke glanced back at her girlfriend, surprised.

"Not that you wouldn't have a good match, but I know you want the show to be great, and to make sure Clarke won't get hurt. That's all fine, and the Women's Title should be defended, but… it gives them the impression that you're protecting her. Let her have her feuds, you have yours. Take the fight with me, at Wrestlemania, I guarantee you, they will see things differently."

"Clarke and I are equals," Lexa defended. "I came here, to prove we were, that we could beat anyone. Just because I'm WWE Champion, that shouldn't diminish her title. We wanted to make that point. That _any_ female Superstar could be a World Champion, because we _deserved_ it. You've worked what, five main events? Why can't we do that?"

"You're right, it's a sexist industry," John concedes, bowing his head. "And I am the face of it. I'm here standing in front of you, telling the both of you, I've been wrong many times. I want to make that right. But, you won't make any headway with the higher ups by going in headstrong. If you help me, I will assure you a secure position. The both of you will be household names. I just need something from you."

"You want us to endorse you," Clarke pieced together, remembering how John introduced himself. "To make you, and the WWE look supportive of what? The LGBT community? Did you find some charity-?"

"No," he quickly corrected her. "This isn't about a foundation, but yes. If you play the love angle, and I am in the story, portrayed positively, then Vince will feel secure. He'll feel that his biggest asset in me is safe, and loosen up the reigns."

"Babe, that's a little bit messed up," Nikki grimaced, considering the implications of his words. At least he knew it about himself, sometimes he didn't know how to talk about things.

"So to get this straight," Lexa breathed deeply, ready to open a can of verbal abuse, "you, the biggest name in this business, for the past twelve _agonizing_ years- all due respect," she added, seeing his face twitch slightly.

"You want to pimp us out to earn the WWE some sort of GLAAD award," the Woman's Champ finished, with a frown.

"Yeah, that," Lexa muttered, with a confirming pat to Clarke's lap.

"I'm here to support my partner's career, not to put our relationship out there," Clarke stepped in, as Lexa nodded approvingly. "I thought this was about building up Lexa, not negotiating terms to get something out of her, that's not what we signed up for. That's not why I came. If you're here to take advantage of the hype behind her push, then maybe, maybe you should leave."

John opened his mouth, but shut it upon hearing Lexa clear her throat.

"John, being completely honest here. You can't understand what this means to us, to Clarke. The company has absolute unwavering faith in you, and you've absolutely deserved it. Just like she can't agree to let me be buried, I can't let her job out. We were promised a strong role, that our sexualities wouldn't impact-"

"Wait, no," Nikki held up, as John took her cue.

"That's in _no_ way a reason for their decisions."

"Well, what is? The WWE, no offense, is a family show. You've said things that yeah, GLAAD didn't agree with, but the crowd eats it up. People haven't exactly changed. Sure, gay marriage exists, but this business is, and we know it to be, homophobic. How would that make us look good? Do you remember Billy and Chuck?"

"Yes," John gritted, feeling the heat of Lexa's truthful words. "And, we were wrong. We are wrong. Hunter didn't lie to you about wanting to change the landscape of this company. From the Divas becoming Superstars, small guys becoming world champs, a female WWE Universal Champion? He's trying to make up for the mistakes of Vince's past, his past, mine. If you give the green light for this story, I promise you, it will be with the utmost sensitivity, and one hundred percent yours. You call the shots, make all the creative decisions."

"For a Wrestlemania Main Event," Lexa countered, reminding him that this wasn't an offer without perks for him. With a glance towards Clarke, she bit her lip, unsure of what to make of this.

"We want something in return then," Clarke blurted out, thinking fast on her feet. If John Cena of all people could ask them a favor, why couldn't they gain something from it themselves?

"You have my word, you won't get buried," he responds, as Clarke shakes her head.

"Not just that, I want something more."

With a devious look to her girlfriend, prompting her to give the blonde a questioning expression, Clarke nudged her eyebrows to Cena, then back at her, with a beaming smile. Getting the message, Lexa smiled widely as Clarke turned back to the conversation with Nikki and John.

"You give the fans what they want."

"Which is…?" Nikki asked, holding her hand up, waiting for clarification.

"I think John knows. For about ten years, there's been a rumor every single one of them, begging for John to do this one thing, one he absolutely refuses to do. Cena, you're the best, without a doubt. As a kid, I was so excited to watch your matches, until they became predictable. Now you've innovated, you've switched a few things around, noted. No one can say you aren't the hardest worker. But there's no way in hell people want to see that for another two years. You do this with me, I want that ruthless aggression, white boy rapper that I grew up watching. I want the Doctor of Thuganomics. I want you to turn heel," Lexa answered, emphatically.

"Done," Cena complied, after a long beat. Extending his hand, he offered a handshake, to which Lexa gladly shook. Breaking his "serious" face, Cena broke down, and enveloped her in a massive bear hug.

"Welcome to the WWE. I'd be honored if you two took a selfie with me."

"Aww, happy endings," Nikki clapped, as he gestured for Clarke, giving her a giant hug as well. As Clarke whipped out her phone to take a picture of them, he made a silly face, sticking out his tongue, before settling down.

"Okay, I'm just messing around, I'll be good," he assured them, as he gave a toothy smile for the flash. Once they'd taken a photo, Clarke sent it to his number, shaking his hand again.

"Lexa, don't ever let this girl go," John pointed to her, before returning to the Universal Champion. "She drives a hard bargain, I was scared she was gonna take me to the woodshed!"

"That's my girl," Lexa beamed, cradling Clarke's waist proudly, "The Women's Champion."

"The WWE Champion," Clarke gazed into her girlfriend's sparkling eyes.

"And on that note, it's time to leave the kids to their own devices," Nikki indicated, knowing a moment when she saw one.

"Be safe kids. And don't stay up too late, next stop on the tour is Florida! I'll see you there!"

"But, we don't have anything set up for Smackdown," Clarke turned to answer, as she watched a departing John and Nikki, still awing at the gushing couple.

"Go to Disneyland, it's the greatest place in the world!" she called back, with a thumbs up to them. "Just show them your selfie with John, you'll be okay!"

"Nikki, that's not what the lifetime passes are for!" they heard him yelp, as Clarke's gaze returned to Lexa, finally taking her shot.

"Well, I took selfies with fans, John Cena, and stayed until closing. Had enough fun for tonight?"

* * *

Her mind hazy, and in a state of ecstasy, Clarke could forgive Lexa's cocky smirk, as she popped up from their comforter sheets, to brush their lips together.

"Hey Champ," she greeted softly, pushing some stray strands of hair behind Clarke's ear.

"Hey Champ," Clarke rebutted, with a hand to Lexa's cheek. "That was nice of you."

"Eh, I had to make up for not having a match, and you getting a tough match your first night. You can ask the trainers; I nearly ran to the ring after that suplex."

"It's okay," the Women's Champ reassured her with a peck on the lips. "If you didn't text me back that you were okay after that attack, I would've went after Hunter. And his wife. I'd snatch a weave for you."

"I know, you're ruthless, babe. You got John Cena to turn heel. I have chills, Clarke, chills," Lexa stated excitedly, shifting to her side of the bed. At the end of it, were their titles, hastily strewn at the bottom one across the other.

"Hey look, Clarke," Lexa pointed, as Clarke moved to lay her head on her shoulder. "Our titles look good together."

Sitting up, Lexa tugged the strap of each belt, laying each belt flat, as she fastened the clasp on Clarkes, propping it up, then doing the same to her own. She set them next to each other, as Clarke, gathering her process, pulled out Lexa's phone to take a snapshot of them.

"So… how much shit do you think we'll get for posting this?"

"With my underwear in the shot?" Clarke noticed, immediately yanking the undergarment away to retake the photo. "I think that's scandal-worthy. Let's try, a little more PG."

"PG-13," Lexa corrected, indicating the bed.

"Detention for a week?" Clarke postulated, sensing the beginning of a bet.

"Detention for a month," her girlfriend counteroffered, as she posted the pic, the insatiable woman kissing her again, for good measure.

 **Yes, Clexa is happy :)**

 **I'm 50/50 on John Cena. Clarke loves him, Lexa finds him to be hardworking, but boring and overrated.**

 **Clarke and Lexa have their own relationship pros and cons, which they work out together. This isn't to say they won't have drama, but their problems won't break them.**

 **Next up!**

 **Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens next week! #FightForever**

 **If Clarke and Lexa were students, (Triple H being the teacher) Clarke is obviously the class clown. Lexa would be the teacher's pet.**

 **Clarke goes barhopping to promote the show, and Lexa, in the future, will tell the story of the legendary story involving Clarke, a snapback hat, a keg, and a fraternity. (Frat boy Clarke, indeed xD)**


	5. Create A Superstar

**Greenwich, CT**

Neither Clarke nor Lexa were too fond of the alarm clock when it rang, but as it did, Lexa rolled over in bed, kissing her partner on the forehead.

"C'mon babe, wakey wakey."

"No, we still have to board the plane…" Clarke groaned, incoherently.

"Clarke, we're already at the hotel, we landed two hours ago. This was a power nap, now c'mon, big meeting today," Lexa clapped loudly, while Clarke turned back over, hoarding the blankets as her girlfriend reached for her.

"I had a nightmare that you were the leader of a society, and you killed lots of people with this awesome dagger," Clarke continued to mutter, as Lexa felt through fabric, wondering if there was an end to their blankets.

"That's really wonderful, sweetheart, but I'm gonna need you to wake up."

"In my dreams you were much nicer," Clarke said in an aside. "You cried when we kissed."

"Alright, I guess I have to go with the ice water trick," Lexa muttered, before processing her girlfriend's last words.

"Wait, do we fall in love in every one of your dreams?"

"In this one, we were rival leaders of two different clans," Clarke supplied in a rather convincing tone, despite her sleep talking. "We made peace, and then we made love. And even though you were totally a bottom, you were really romantic, and there were candles, so it was all in all a 10/10 dream."

Taken aback by her girlfriend's creative mind, Lexa mulled over an actual punishment, before deciding, "Damn it, that was pretty good. You earned five minutes, but then you _really_ have to get up."

"Thank you _babeee_ ," her ball of fluff responded.

"As long as I don't die in one, I'm fine," Lexa huffed, attempting to set a timer on her phone, which was pinging non-stop. Confused as to what was causing this phenomena, she flicked through her phone to- _woah_.

"Well, then I'm glad I didn't mention how this one ends," Clarke muttered back, as Lexa could barely register her words, while looking at her phone, still consistently beeping.

About a billion phone calls from Hunter, an enraged Vince McMahon, and a proud Stephanie McMahon. Business, as they said, had just picked up.

Lexa's Instagram photo garnered 100,000 likes overnight, and people didn't know what to think about it. Scandals emerged, some close to being accurate, some rather crazy. On instinct, Lexa wanted to curse out the crazy fan postulating that she kidnapped Clarke and held her hostage, but then again, the fan didn't know better, and upon seeing their page, she pegged them for a mark.

"Right. So, we're either going to get murdered at this meeting, or we're gonna be hailed heroes, Clarke. I may have screwed up badly."

"Lexa, did you kick another member of Azgeda out the window?" Clarke asked seriously, until Lexa realized, she was still half asleep.

* * *

 **WWE HQ**

As the WWE's headquarters were their official home base, and for competitive reasons, more secretive than the CIA, Clarke and Lexa soon learned that they'd only be allowed into corporate's boardroom with the stipulation that they'd be blindfolded before entering the room.

"This seems kind of kinky," Clarke whispered, as an employee handed her a branded eye mask, Lexa following suit, giving her a non-approving look, before shaking her head.

"Clarke, you're gonna get us kicked out," she hissed, trying to be the responsible one, and not laugh.

"Oh, hush, Instagram poster, your phone is still ringing. By the way, do you know any other professions that have their employees wear blindfolds to meetings? No, just us?" Clarke complained.

"Just go along with it," Lexa urged, feeling her girlfriend coming up with some sassy comeback as soon as the words left her lips.

"What is, things Lexa says in bed for $200, Alex," she answered, dutifully.

"Jesus Christ, Clarke!"

"What is, things Lexa says in bed for $1,000?"

"My God, I love these kids!" a man's voice rang out, stopping Clarke and Lexa's argument in its tracks. Both stunned to silence, they ripped off their eye masks, just to see if they weren't deluding themselves, and indeed their ears were correct. Years and years of hearing this guy in the mic, you couldn't mistake anyone else for Stone Cold Steve Austin.

"Oh my God, it's Stone Cold!" Clarke immediately fangirled, rushing to hug him, as Lexa held her face, overwhelmed with emotion. Pleased with the reaction, Steve heartily hugged her, as he opted to shake Lexa's hand, sensing her nervousness.

As their vision cleared to see more than just the legend, they saw the familiar faces of John Cena, Triple H, Randy Orton, Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, and Roman Reigns.

"Welcome to the club," John greeted them, as Lexa, slightly anxious after knowing they all heard her and Clarke, still had the posture to tell a joke.

"Where's AJ?" she asked, innocently, as they all laughed, Stone Cold's being the most noticeable, with his rough, distinguished voice, akin to Triple H's.

"This is a different kinda club. Essentially, this is the cutting room floor," Triple H, introduced, panning the entire room with a wave. "These guys, are responsible for about 90 percent of the booking decisions. They're leaders in the locker room, if they feel a guy's hot, they suggest bringing him up, if not, he gets pushed down. It's like, we're the little Keebler elves that make the cookies."

This time, Clarke had to cover her face to avoid laughing.

"I like this one," Stone Cold offered, jutting out his thumb. "She's got a real Rey Mysterio vibe, I don't think you can get the fans to really boo her. And a gimmick, you can't say fans won't get behind the next door neighbor kind of Superstar. Hell, they liked me, and I was basically a disgruntled employee with a temper problem for a couple of years!"

"Yeah, we've been thinking about that," Triple H noted, glancing to John, and several members of the group, before continuing.

"Clarke, most of the guys see you as an injury risk with your move set. There's a lot of potential for damage-"

"Did you see Ontari's hip toss?" Lexa began to defend, as Captain of the Clarke Defense Squad.

"I did, and because of it, she's being sent down to the developmental after your match, and will be terminated if we find the move was intentional. Clarke, as a reward for making an innovative business decision, can keep her move set. And, we hoped that our findings could lend to her having a program with the man she just… squealed at."

Lexa, along with the other members of the club all harbored confused expressions, as Hunter gave Clarke a reassuring smile.

"I think they're confused, Clarke, you wanna fill them in?" he encouraged, as Clarke felt a small squeeze from Lexa's hand in hers.

"Well, a few years back when I was starting out, I'd hit the bar just to engage with the fans who came out, and have a good time listening to the local music. They were really vocal, and I relayed to Hunter how valuable their voices are, considering they buy merch and tickets. So, he suggested I interact with them, and learn what they like. From that, we were able to graph, and track what most of the WWE Universe wanted to see."

"What is, the Attitude Era for $400?" Dean chimed in, raising his hand, as if to ask a question. Right on cue, Clarke shared a look with Lexa, who instantly blushed, remembering their conversation.

"Bingo," Hunter confirmed. "Those bastards cannot get over the past."

Randy, much like the others were chortling amongst themselves, until Clarke did what she did best, make everyone slightly uncomfortable, in a good way.

"There was also a large following in the gay community that would like us to leak Randy Orton's nudes, or in the least tell him to please take measures to avoiding in-ring boners," Clarke ticked off, as Hunter, Dean, and Steve loudly guffawed, Lexa nearly doubled over laughing, as John was almost in tears at Randy's blanched expression. Roman and Seth were howling, shaking with mirth, and holding each other up for support.

"Oh, you guys are laughing now, she's got the heat on all of you," Hunter warned, as Lexa nodded, begging her to please continue.

"Right. Of course, there is the 45% of fans that feel that John Cena is the top face of the company, deservedly so. The other 54% would rather he job to Dilbert, Michael Cole, or Justin Bieber," she paused, gaining appreciative guffaws from Seth and Dean on the Bieber joke. "The remaining 1% adamantly believe he is in a secret relationship with Randy Orton."

Some ooo's emerged from this, as the remaining club participants now focused on Cena and Orton, visibly red with embarrassment.

"I swear to God," he started, unable to continue, from laughing so hard.

"81% of female fans find Roman Reigns to be incredibly sexy, and deserving of his position as WWE Champion," Clarke continued as Roman braced himself, waiting for an insult.

"100% of the boyfriends of said females in that group hated Roman Reigns, citing that they would rather drink bleach than hear him talk."

"Alright, you got jokes," Roman conceded, with a nod to Clarke, as the guys laughed in his vicinity.

"Seth Rollins," Clarke mused, rubbing her chin, as she pretended to recall "facts", really they were mass fan opinions.

"Seth, one fan did want me to ask you, did you ever and I quote, 'tawt you taw a putty tat'?"

"Oh my God!" Dean burst out, as Seth immediately bowed his head, his face slightly flushed pink.

"Ah, Dean Ambrose, what data did we find on you…" Clarke held the group in suspense, as Dean readily waited for his verbal assault. "This is really hard, I happen to like you a lot!"

Lexa smirked in his direction, knowing this wasn't going to end well for him in all likelihood. Clarke could have them in stitches for days, if she got her way.

"I can take it," he smiled, prepping himself to take a hard blow.

"Alright," she deviously smiled, Lexa considering covering her mouth. "Seeing as you're a big internet sensation, I decided to gauge your audience from the internet. The Reddit community would like to offer a trade of Tupac for Justin Bieber, and Dean Ambrose for 2008's Joker, Heath Ledger."

"Oooh my goodness, she's savage!" Randy yelped, as the former Shield tried to pat Dean on the back, still visibly openmouthed.

"That's… the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me," he choked, wiping his eye of a tear slipping down.

"Lexa…"

"Oh, this is great," Dean recovered, instantly, returning to form. "Go on, roast your girlfriend!"

"Is she serious?" Seth mouthed, as Roman and Randy looked on, Cena bearing a scandalized expression, as Stone Cold stood back, nodding, impressed.

"Babe, just, just say it, the longer you hesitate, the more scared I get," Lexa winced, preparing to flinch.

"Oh, my lovable Lexa. 100% of the lesbian WWE fanbase informed me that they found you attractive. No, really," Clarke answered to the group, as they nearly exhaled in relief, avoiding a potential relationship split.

But they didn't really know Clarke Griffin, not like Lexa did.

"That same number of people had no clue who you even were, until I pointed you out" she finished with relish, as Lexa made a visible wounded face, before waggling her finger at her.

"I'll figure some way to get back at you at that…" her girlfriend promised, with a wink.

"Stone Cold Steve Austin…"

Holding his hands up, Stone Cold waved his surrender.

"Kid, I don't know what you got on me, but I'm guilty. Please, go easy on me, I'm retired," he relayed, as he slowly lowered his hands.

"You are a legend, beloved by the fans. In your history as a WWE Superstar, it was hard for anyone to hate you. You were loved by everyone in your career, so long as you don't count your liver."

Turning to Triple H, Steve regarded him, almost speechless.

"Where did you find this kid? I've never been so happy to be insulted", he chuckled, as John Cena was seen visibly making an open mouthed expression, most of the Superstars covering their mouths, in fear they would burst out laughing.

"And finally, Triple H."

The room went nearly silent. Triple H kept mostly to himself, chuckling here and there at Clarke's jokes, but at the sound of his name, tensed.

"I dunno kid, back in my days, Hunter was stiffer than a board," Steve cautioned, glancing at Clarke with small worry.

"Oh Paul…" Clarke trudged on, noting the nervous expressions of her peers. "They say to only roast the ones you love. So with that in mind… the WWE Universe believes you've buried more people than a shovel. You've killed more career aspirations than the porn industry. And, you literally screwed your way to the top."

Sensing the abrupt halt in her speech was due to holding out for a punchline, all of the Superstars, along with Stone Cold held their breath, as Paul Levesque looked positively fuming.

"And to someone that callous, cruel and calculating, I have one thing to say," Clarke stated, building the suspense to her final words.

At these words, Hunter stepped forward, and Lexa instinctively moved closer. In on the work, Lexa played it straight, pretending to be genuinely worried the situation would get out of control.

"Can I get your autograph?" Clarke asked with the childish innocence of a ten-year-old, whipping out a black Sharpie to sell the joke. Cracking a smile, Hunter obliged, signing her T-shirt, before addressing the room as to what had just transpired.

"Did you see what happened here?" he asked, gesturing for Clarke to bow.

"That, was the element of surprise. I've told you all, these girls are goldmines here, with endless possibilities. Vince doesn't see this, I doubt he'll want to change his ways, but were you not entertained?"

"I was insulted," Randy kidded, pointing to himself.

"We were all insulted," Seth interjected. "I'm all for Dean Martin style roasts, but what was this for? Is this Clarke's gimmick, and she's trying it out? What's the game plan, Game?"

"That, stays in this room. You boys are looking at the future of our industry, and I'm asking you to invest in it, with me. Clarke Griffin shouldn't be jobbing for a mid-card status in the Women's Division- her mic skills are on par with any of our guys, hell she makes most of them sound like a snooze fest. And Lexa, well, did anyone see her tryout match?"

All of the Superstars shook their heads, feeling some small admonishment from the WWE CEO.

"She can do some amazing things in that ring. I'm not wasting that on a feud where she loses the WWE title to The Miz. Honestly, I see a lot of myself, and Randy in her character. She's cerebral, snakelike. We can build a monster heel, and a massive fan favorite, they're both here in this room. I'm asking for the entire club to back me up on this, and collaborate with me," he plead his case, as the boys mulled over this weighty decision.

"You're asking us to lose to them," Roman surmised, his tone unable to discern, as Clarke and Lexa waited on their opinions in the matter.

"I'm in," he conceded, taking a breath. "If they're as good as you say they are, then I'm excited to see what they can deliver."

Extending out a fist, a callback to his days in the Shield, Lexa noticed the potential beginning of a pact being made.

"I'm down, if we can change your theme music," Dean admitted, touching his fist to Roman's, a sign of unity, as Clarke gratefully let out a heavy exhale.

"See?" she indicated towards her boss. "Lexa's got a badass theme, I want a badass theme!"

"Okay, the theme song needs some work, any other suggestions?" Hunter relented, opening the floor.

"Lexa, you're gonna need another finisher," Randy opted in, tapping his knuckles with the other Shield members. "You've got a move right now that works fine, but if you're gonna be in the ring with someone bigger, you're gonna need something you can use on anyone. I know the options are limited, but we can work together and come up with a solution. Heck, Vince gave me a day. We've got at least a month."

"That sounds awesome," Lexa gushed, surprised with the knowledge she had of the man, that Randy Orton, of all people would be giving her career advice. "I'd love to work with you."

"I'd like to hear Lexa's mic skills," Seth chimed in, extending his fist out, nonetheless. "I'm a team player, but still, it's nice to see what I'm investing in."

"Seth," Hunter carefully articulated, with a reverent look towards his protégé, his hands in mock prayer against his face, as he meant to embellish a point. "This is something I've been working hands on with Lexa, and I'm enlisting Randy to work out some of the kinks with. It's something of a surprise, I'm going to be honest with you. Along with everyone, you're gonna see what it is. But the kid has it, I assure you."

With an affirmative nod, Clarke patted her shy girlfriend on the back.

"Is the hand, that's, that's our way of saying we agree?" Stone Cold questioned, circling the vicinity with his index finger, before joining them. "Hell, I know you're high on Lexa, Hunter, but I'm willing to work with Clarke if you trust her enough to take the piss out of you."

"I'm putting my reputation on the line for them, because I believe in them," Hunter confessed, as they knew this was truly Paul, and not The Game, Triple H. "And after their talk with John last night, I hope they believe in us."

"Ah," Clarke let out, folding her arms, as they finally got to the elephant in the room. "The LGBT storyline. I'm guessing we're not in trouble for Lexa's post?"

Taken aback, the Superstars were silent, John's head slightly bowed. Triple H flinched, if not for a second, before quickly recovering.

"Yes, that. The post, if anything, boosts interest. Controversy has always contributed to ratings, so, I see it as a good thing. But, have you given any thought to the program?"

"We've got some ideas," Clarke shrugged, unfolding her arms, as Lexa took over.

"Do we still get to call the shots, and final approval?" she asked, daringly.

"You're- you're doing it?" Hunter replied, genuinely astonished.

"Well, then yes. I only have one thing I want to see in my lifetime, and I'd hope it could be a provision in our agreement," Lexa agreed, her analytical, tactical side rearing its head.

"What feud would that be?" Stone Cold asked, his curious expression greeted with a smile from the younger up and comer.

"Stone Cold Steve Austin, meets Frat Girl Clarke."

* * *

 **Smackdown Live!**

"Ladies and gentleman, welcome to Miz TV!" The Miz announced, in his signature drawling voice.

"This week, the WWE Universe was rocked, shaken to its core! We have a new Women's Champion, we have a female WWE Universal Champion! People are asking, people want to know, who is _she_? What does The Miz think of them? Could The Miz beat _her_ in a match?"

Taking a moment for the fans to realize he wasn't a fan of the new champion, and reigning in the boos, Miz continued to divert from the script, electing to use the time allotted to his show to send a legitimate message, straight to the head of the food chain, Triple H himself.

"Personally, I don't think this Lexa chick could lace my boots, and her title win was a fluke, but _she_ never defeated John Cena in the main event of Wrestlemania. She has never faced off against a legitimate competitor in this industry, nor could she beat me. I implore every and any Superstar to protest this new Champion, seeing as most of the locker room is exempt from facing her! Lexa can't even suplex most of the guys in the back, and she's a World Champion? More like the world's joke," he seethed, breaking character, and still earning himself some of the crowd's ire, despite Lexa being a heel as well.

The segment heading south, Triple H, fuming, yelled through his earpiece to the broadcast team to prepare for Sami Zayn and Kevin's unexpected arrival early, as he set out to take him to task. The in-ring referee quickly relaying the message to Miz, he chuckled, pandering to the jeering crowd obediently.

In an instant, Lexa's music hit, and the crowd erupted, hoping this would be Lexa ready and willing to shut the "must see" Superstar's mouth, once and for all. Instead, they were even more enthused to see a familiar, unusual face, Kevin Owens'.

"I'm sorry, but I had to try it. That music, man, it's pretty cool. Miz, Miz, usually, usually, I hate your guts and wait for you to shut up so the grownups can talk," Kevin started, letting the crowd cheer for him, just once.

"No, please stop cheering, I'm the bad guy, and I still hate you all, dearly," he continued, with a fake eye roll, as the fans took heed, and booed, on cue. "But Miz, as per usual, you're missing the big picture here. If a woman can compete for the WWE Championship, I'm jumping ship on you guys, it is so much easier to listen to Clarke than it is you. Whom, if you guys were unaware, because you're stupid, is the new Women's Champion. You're welcome. And yes, you heard it here first, Florida, I'm taking my talents to the Women's Division."

"Kevin Owens, from RAW, ladies and gentleman, he can't, he can't be serious!" The voice of the newly rehired Josh Mathews rang out in the arena, as his partner, Tazz nodded in agreement, before adding, "Can he even do that? I mean, there's a reason it's called the Women's title, I'd think!"

Once more, Lexa's theme played, and the crowd, raucous, were more than happy to see Lexa put him, or Kevin in their place. And, yet again, they were disappointed, pleasantly, by the face of a smiling Sami Zayn.

Over the years, Sami and Kevin fought like Tom and Jerry, Mario and Bowser, Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker. Nowadays, with their many storied fights, they'd exhausted every avenue, until they decided upon hanging it up. When they'd learned of Clarke and Lexa's prospective story, they were more than happy to contribute towards promoting the two, wanting to be a part of making history. To them, putting the girls over was a step in the right direction.

"And now, Sami Zayn from RAW!" Josh called out, in astonishment. "What an evening this is shaping up to be!"

"Yeah, all these RAW Superstars coming out, except the one Miz was expecting!" Tazz exclaimed.

"Kevin, I hate to agree with you, but on this, I've gotta. It feels pretty cool to come out to that theme song. I wish I could use it all the time," Sami spoke over the mic, as the crowd gave him a loud cheer.

"Oh Lord, what is this, #FightForever again? What is this match number infinity?" Miz hastily improvised, feeling uncomfortable in the unscripted situation he was in.

Ignoring Miz, as instructed, Sami went about his promo as best he could, shedding a humorous light on his past feud with his best friend. "Kevin, I think we need couple's therapy," Sami replied, his words tired, and full of more truth than he'd like to admit. "I feel like every time we see each other, it's like Peter Griffin and the guy in the chicken suit. I don't want that anymore."

"Sami, you're irrelevant now," Kevin blurted out, as he tried to keep in check what he could, and absolutely could not say to spoil future stories. Ridiculously, he added, "I'm onto bigger and better things, and I know you're gonna be all jealous, but I'm gonna be the Number One Contender for the WWE Women's Championship. I'm the Prizefighter, you're just somehow gonna have to live without fighting me."

"Wait a second, you're- you're serious, then? So, what you wanna be the Women's Champion now?" Sami Zayn asked, flustered at Kevin's ever changing life goals.

"Uh, YEAH Have you met me? A title's a title, I'll fight anyone!" Kevin Owens barked, as if this was the most obvious question in the world. "Bring out Clarke, let's make this official, c'mon!"

"Neither of you losers are facing the Women's Champion!" Miz piped in, after being given strict instructions through the referee on what he was to say next, should he wish to keep his position as a contender for the Intercontinental Championship. "She's actually someone I respect, but I digress here. Maybe you two should head to the Women's Division, you sure fight like girls!" he shouted, as both Sami and Kevin paused, sharing a glance, before looking at the audience, finally deciding on punching Miz in his face, in unison.

Still in Greenwich ,Connecticut, despite having left WWE HQ, Clarke still had to hold Lexa's arm from ditching the hotel, before she bolted for the nearest plane to Smackdown's airing location in Orlando, Florida. Next week, they'd be in The Rock's hometown, Miami, and it was sure to be a fun-filled night, along with one that began the long road to Wrestlemania for them. Miz had whatever would be coming to him, he didn't know Lexa very well.

"Babe, you know Paul's got us- he'll take care of this."

"He called me out, Clarke, _on national television_. That was basically a burial, he knows I can't-" Lexa argued, as her girlfriend cut her off, the wheels of her imagination spinning rapidly.

"Real life hate always makes for a good story. You're still working on your finisher, but in the meantime, why not add insult to injury? Think of the look on his face when he learns that he has to sell, or even worse, _Maryse_ -"

"The Skull Crushing Finale," Lexa caught on, a smile creeping upon her face. "It'd made me look even more heinous. And buy me some time. You're a genius, Clarke."

"I can't wait to see what you're up to next week," Clarke deflected, hoping to pry some information out of her girlfriend, regarding the top secret promo for next week, as she wrapped her arms around her girlfriend's neck supportively.

"You know I want it to be a surprise for you, sweetheart," Lexa reiterated, leaning her head against Clarke's. "Plus, you know what it'll be like, me doing my baddie thing. Now, you know I'll have to add in some choice words about The Miz. Nothing big, babe. You'll see it, and after that, we'll get to the hard stuff."

"Like an incest storyline," Clarke feigned seriousness, before laughing at the ludicrous pitch. "I feel so sorry for Bellamy and Octavia, I can't believe Vince actually approached them with that. Honestly, after that, I'd wanna quit. I would just quit."

"But, are you comfortable with this angle? Working with, him?" Lexa wondered, her voice leaving the question open ended.

"The safest guy in the ring?" Clarke asked, faking innocence for her girlfriend's sake. "I think I'll be okay, Lexa."

"I mean, I'm okay, if you're fine with it. It's just acting, right?" Lexa spoke, more as a mantra to herself, than in response to Clarke.

Her tone uncertain, Clarke broke them apart to look Lexa properly in the eyes, feeling her worry over a suggested route for their storyline. Nothing would ever separate them in her eyes, and Lexa, while protective, was never the jealous, or untrusting type. Was this a product of her new workload, more worrying?

"Lexa, I love you. It's just acting. And we can change the story, if you want. We've got a blank canvas to work with, and a whole year to fill."

"You're right, we've got endless stories to tell," Lexa concurred, finding the words to be calming as she said them.

"Like our story," Clarke beamed up at Lexa, again, finding a smile on her face, all thanks to her lover. "How the frat girl met the shy girl, who was secretly a badass. That's the story."

"That's the story," Lexa repeated, firmly tucking away her misgivings.

They had a ton of work cut out for them, as they commanded 100 percent of the executive decisions over their respective program. Sure, the writer's team could make suggestions, hell, they'd been flooded with ideas, once they'd entered their office, but this was their collaborative project. While Clarke now had Steve Austin to package her, and Lexa had Randy Orton, their story was special. Thing was, they had no idea where to start.

Should life script the show, or should they make it all up, and stick with traditional elements that worked? Could they promote top WWE Superstars, and believably beat them, without hurting their status? Would they prove Vince McMahon, once and for all to be wrong?

 **Next up!**

 **The Face of the WWE gives his opinion on the new WWE Universal Champion!**

 **Clarke will begin a storyline Lexa created, but is unsure of, once it begins to pan out on stage, as it will require a loss of a Championship title. (But who is losing their title?)**

 **WWE Creative takes its exceptions to Lexa, who doesn't hold back on her feelings on The Miz.**

 **Randy and Lexa work out a Finisher! What should it be?**

 **The announce team, if you've noticed, is not canon. Cole and Corey Graves are RAW's team, while Josh Mathews and Tazz are Smackdown's commentary.**

 **WWE Superstars will be divided, as Triple H defends the integrity of the WWE Universal Championship, and its reigning Champion.**


	6. Introductions

**WWE RAW (Pre-show)**

The first thing to catch Lexa's line of vision when she entered Florida's historic arena was the unmistakable boss himself, the venerable Vince McMahon.

Amicably chatting amongst Paul and his daughter Stephanie, Lexa politely nodded, before scurrying towards them, their previous conversation halted, as they directed their attention to her.

"Lexa, hey!" Paul greeted amicably, as he gave her an encouraging pat on the back. "You ready to meet the man in person?"

"It's an honor," Lexa blushed, shaking Vince's hand firmly, but cordially. "Sorry if I'm a little disoriented, I just had a meeting with the writers. A lot of last minute planning going on."

"I've heard," Vince's gruff voice replied. "Despite last week's shenanigans, and my personal protests, here you are, the WWE Universal Champion."

Their meeting quickly turning sour, Lexa was comforted by the disapproving looks from Paul, and Stephanie.

"You seem like a nice kid, but I've gotta say, I don't like your style. That little joke you made, posting that picture, sure, that's a way to fire up some controversy, but you will _never_ be a legitimate contender in this business in my eyes, nor a Champion-"

"Now, _hold on_ ," Paul interfered, backing off only on a glance from his wife.

"Dad, you've got a lot of nerve-"

"And so do the two of you!" Vince accused, pointing straight at the stunned silent Champion. "You put the title on her, desecrating every last man's name to ever hold that title! I've only asked you to have her drop it to Finn, or Miz in the following Pay Per Views to salvage the namesake of the sport! Why is that so unreasonable? You got your moment, history was made, but this company will be a laughing stock with a- _her_ as the face of it!"

At this rate, Stephanie could tell why her husband was so high on Lexa, and how eerily similar they were, as she looked at Lexa, the young Superstar positively fuming. Paul and her could've been mistaken for twins, but she knew he held his tongue out of respect, in the hopes that she would set her father straight.

"You entrusted this company to Paul and I, dad, and now, you have to _let it go_. Whatever we make of this empire, is our legacy, not yours. Our mistakes, are our own, but our successes will always be in part, thanks to you. We are not taking the title off a newly minted Champion and railroading her career, before it even takes off!"

"Why can't she just have the feud with Clarke? I was on board with that idea, why not that?" Vince barked as Paul shook his head. Lexa merely stood there, wordlessly. In truth, she never gave up the concept of working a match with Clarke, they trained together, and tagged together. The story ideas were rife and full of possibilities, the downside being someone had to lose a title. This early on in their careers, Lexa wasn't too fond of making that call for herself or her partner.

"You paused-" the former chairman observed, lowering his tone, as he sensed some possible reconciliation, or middle ground.

"I haven't eliminated the possibility of wanting to see that, but-" Lexa reluctantly answered, only to be steamrolled by the faster mind, spinning its wheels at a rapid pace.

"You drop the title, we build a Main Event match for Wrestlemania. You get the media, Paul and Stephanie get what they want, a better reputation for the company, everyone wins. It's not- it's not business practical to book a Champion with no name, no merch sales, and she can't even body slam half the locker room!"

Having lost her patience, Lexa was already in her heel mentality, and ready to snap back, only to be stopped by Stephanie and Paul.

"We got this, kid," he reassured her, with a gentle squeeze to her shoulder. In a power couple move, Paul gestured between the two of them, as Stephanie leaned in to whisper something into her father's ear, wanting Lexa to see the tides of his opinion change, in a literal split second. As if scripted, Vince's face fell into an "oh" shaped form, his eyes widening, as his former composure and swagger left him.

"I- I didn't know, I'm- I'm…"

Lexa knew what the hesitation was for. If the rumors were indeed true, Vince McMahon really was a hard man to get an apology out of.

"Well, I still think this is a mistake, but- _you_ ," he leaned into Lexa's side, whispering harshly for only her to hear, "you better change my mind, kid. I'll be watching tonight. You can either make history out there, or you can get the _hell_ out of my ring!"

Her heart racing, blood pumping furiously, Lexa quietly took his hand, her handshake rougher than before, as she stared at him, purely livid.

"I'm sorry," Vince mumbled, noticing his daughter ready to run interference again. "I'll see how everything goes tonight, try to keep an open mind, and judge from there."

Without so much as another word, he left, that bossy swagger still intact, as he trudged away from them. As soon as he appeared out of earshot, Paul's attention averted to his Champion, concerned for her wellbeing.

"What did he say to you?"

"Sounded like a threat, or a challenge" Lexa answered casually. "Either way, I'm fine with it. Is Brock still…?"

"Oh, no, we were sure to fix that before dad even flew in. Brock's team us now, " Stephanie reassured the young Champion. "I mean… if you're still okay with this."

"Two birds, one stone. He serves to help two stories, I'll make sure he looks as good as possible, talk him up anyway I can. Please, let me go off script tonight, when they handed it to me, I could've gagged. Let me introduce myself, I'll play by the rules, and hit some points they were trying to make. You've gotta trust me," Lexa pleaded, appealing to the McMahon family as if they were her parents.

Conversing with their eyes, Stephanie gave a curious look, as Paul caught her eye, before nodding.

"It would be going against tradition if we didn't let a pipebomb go off," Paul quipped, shrugging nonchalantly.

"You have the floor," Stephanie granted, as Lexa exhaled a grateful sigh, she held the brunette's gaze sternly to assure her it wasn't exactly time to celebrate yet.

"No, you can't roast my dad, yet. I promise you at some point, you will, but that rage? Save that for later. That, will be a memorable promo the night I hear you go off on him. For now, redirect your energy. Let the people hear you and judge for themselves if you are the real deal. Make the critics creating their petitions, the guys in the back that don't believe, put them on the burner, let them, _The Miz_ have it. Show them why we picked you to represent the New Era," she concluded, her eyes passing over Lexa seriously, before softening her gaze.

"We believe in you, Lexa. You and Clarke are a fresh breath of air to the company, and my father will eat his words."

"I hope so," Lexa responded truthfully, pulling out her script, riddled with last minute notes and ideas. "So, tonight, the groundwork. For now, I stick with my normal Finisher, and they want me to unveil the new one at Hell in a Cell. And I've got the game plan all set for Clarke, after her talk with Steve, and the writers are on board. They're gonna phase out the music, she'll scrap her gear, and we've got her gimmick on board."

"I'm all good with this plan," Paul nodded, his head jerking back, as he recalled something. "So long as we get to hear this story you told Randy about, the legend of 'Wanheda'?"

"Oh, that legend…" Lexa paused, unsure of how professional it would be to relay a story of how Clarke declared herself "Wanheda" after beating a fraternity member in a drinking contest. Randy seemed much more amiable for that kind of thing. Telling the two people in front of her almost felt like tattling on her girlfriend.

"That story?" Stephanie wondered, lightly laughing it off. "Clarke told me about it last week. If the writers wanna take that and use it, they have my full permission," she supplied simply, as her husband simply gaped at her.

"You know the story?" he questioned, half bewildered, half outraged.

"You'll hear about it soon enough. The whole world's going to see it. The next Triple H and Stone Cold they are, wait till dad figures it out."

At this, they could only look at each other, sharing a mischievous grin.

"C'mon, we've got a show to prepare for," Stephanie encouraged, with a glean in her eye. Tonight was certainly going to be one for the history books.

* * *

 **Monday Night Raw**

Standing in gorilla position, Lexa looked up, feeling that ball of nerves finally hit her. This was a do-or-die moment, this was the final minute in the fourth quarter. Everything Stephanie and Triple H built, depended on the outcome of this night. The competency of their reign as executives stood on their decision to back her as a World Champion.

Not one to miss the action, nor did she miscalculate the importance of this step in her girlfriend's career, Clarke popped in from the locker room, firmly kissing her girlfriend on the mouth, before the brunette could respond.

"Clarke," Lexa breathed, allowing herself to feel emotional.

"God, you look beautiful," Clarke distracted her, pointing out the simple, but statement worthy dress Lexa selected, a black, high slit dress. Adorned with thin silver bracelets as accents, stiletto heels, and the infinity necklace Clarke bought her, (a symbol of their relationship) each article complimented the Championship she held on her shoulders well.

"Now I get nervous," Lexa scolded herself, willing herself not to cry. "I didn't even flinch when I won this thing, but I don't wanna let them down-"

"You won't, Lexa," Clarke reassured, stepping back, as the stage handler's cued Lexa to prep for her entrance, Triple H and Stephanie on the other side, already in the ring.

Remembering an important part of her promo, Lexa hurriedly turned back to her, apologizing.

"Babe, what I say tonight, I'm sorry I didn't tell you-"

"Didn't tell me what?" Clarke managed to ask, but was drowned out by the celebratory fireworks, signaling Lexa's entrance.

To herself, Clarke pouted, but upon remembering that this was Lexa's big promo, decided to give her girlfriend a break, as she huffed a breath, and settled herself under the viewing monitor. She at least knew somewhere in the facility, one Kevin Owens was being disturbed in an interview by the suddenly loud noises.

* * *

Pulling the curtain back, Lexa was able to regroup under the subtle boos of the audience, still not entirely sure where they stood on her character, most of them unsure of who she was, save for being a baddie. With her heel mentality intact, she smiled towards the ring at her two bosses, earning her a camera close up, and drawing more of the crowd's ire.

Ignoring Cole's commentary that sought to bury Grave's praise of her character, Lexa considered throwing Michael Cole under the bus for siding with Miz, before thinking better of it, and instead directing her focus towards the goal instead. If she kept it professional, they'd only make their characters look worse. Instead, she assuredly walked down the arena ramp, up the steps, and was politely helped into the ring, by Triple H holding the ropes down, so she could safely enter.

Quietly mouthing "all you, kid," Triple H stopped his clapping in tandem with Stephanie to hand her a microphone. For storyline purposes, they stuck around to establish their group as a unit, tentatively named "The Family". However, as fans themselves, they had front row seats to the Lexa Show.

As she took a small breath, Lexa looked deeply into the crowd, her face showing little to no emotion. Licking her lips, she brought the microphone close to address the WWE Universe for the first time.

"For those of you who live under a rock, my name is Lexa."

She paused, for a moment, to let the fans get riled up, and boo her, before continuing.

"Oh Florida, you stopped being relevant after the 2000 Presidential election. Remember that, before you start booing someone, because the rest of the world is still laughing at you," Lexa snapped back at the crowd, smiling cockily, as the crowd didn't instantly jeer her, but instead was stunned almost to silence.

In an instant, the silence quickly turned into a hailstorm of naysayers, just realizing they'd been wittily insulted. Regaining some confidence, Lexa looked off into the camera deadpan, simply stating "Yeah, I got jokes."

"Regardless," she drawled, rolling her eyes, "If you haven't heard of me, you've certainly heard of my father, the Hall of Famer, the legendary Titus."

Recognizing the name in a heartbeat, the audience popped for the mention of a legend, chanting his iconic phrase, the battle-cry, "Trigeda!" Ever aware of her audience, Lexa let them chant, nodding along as she murmured with them.

"Yeah, yeah Trigeda! Trigeda! You know him!" Lexa exclaimed, pandering to the crowd slightly, before admonishing them. "Thing is, while he busy entertaining all of you people, he decided you were more important in his life, than his _own daughter_."

With a softer tone, Lexa let her words sink in, slightly to gain a bit of their sympathy before shaking them up again, but also out of genuine resentment for her father's actions. This wasn't a random story she was making up, this one piqued the interest of Triple H, enough to sign her to NXT. How she'd decide to tell this story was why he brought her up to the main roster.

"You never knew he had a kid, did you? And that's fine, I'd never want validation from any of you," Lexa continued, earning the boos that met her, as she casually talked past them. "I grew up in orphanages, while my father pursued titles. He had the longest Intercontinental Title reign, a decorated career spanning a decade, multiple title wins, that match, _you know_ ," Lexa gestured to the crowd with emphasis.

"That match with Stone Cold?" she appealed to them, before deferring to her mentors. "Yeah, I remember that one too! It was the week of my sixth grade graduation."

"An impressive career lasting twelve years," Lexa acknowledged with a nod, taking a heavy breath as she remembered to not get emotional. Not even Clarke knew this about her. "You know, my father never won a World Title. I won mine in my debut."

Smiling devilishly, Lexa lifted it up to show it to the mass of the crowd, loving their disgusted reactions, and staunch hatred of her character. While most people couldn't stand the criticism, the crowd's boos were like a symphonic melody to her ears.

"Hate all you want, it's not gonna give my daddy a title. And speaking of hate, I'd like to address the dissenters for a second, namely The Miz. I hate to give free publicity to a guy so deep in his own mediocrity he had the audacity to even mention me, but since you already have, you're welcome to _try_ and lace my boots. I implore you, no, I'm begging you, stop while you're behind. Stay on Smackdown, with your insignificant number one contender spot for the Intercontinental Championship, because if you get in this ring with me, I won't need to suplex you. I can always just remind you of your embarrassing start to your WWE career."

To this, the crowd all gave an audible "ooo", sensing real tension. In all honesty, much of this segment was pre-approved by the writers, likely in response to Miz's creativity with their script for him last week. If the rumors were true, he was chewed out by Triple H personally, and his status as a contender for a Championship title in danger of being revoked.

"But I have greater concerns than an already has been, that continually tries and fails to emulate the charisma of Chris Jericho," Lexa name dropped, a genuine compliment to a Superstar that helped inspire her career (despite disagreeing with her Championship reign, as he noted in his podcast). "I have the WWE Universe questioning. The Women's Division, confused. The male superstars wondering. The former WWE Universal Champion, baffled. They're all asking, what's next?"

With a glance to Stephanie and Triple H to gauge their reactions, earning her reassurance in the form of head nods, and thumbs up, Lexa prepared to drop the second bombshell on the WWE Universe.

"Now, due to a rematch clause, I will defend my Championship against Finn Bálor at Hell in a Cell," she spoke, almost as an afterthought, as the crowd nearly erupted in cheers.

"After I win, and I _will_ win," Lexa nonchalantly went on, pretending to ignore the fans "The board of directors have decided that in the interest of fairness, the WWE Universal Title will be defended by me, against any female Superstar. Under the appropriately named Lexa Clause, any male Superstar who does not wish to face me, will instead, face this man."

A beat held the audience's attention, as they waited with bated breaths to see the man Lexa recruited to help defend her Championship. Lo, and behold their wait was well worth it to see the nearly 300 pounder return, his distinguished theme song setting the crowd into a tizzy, as Cole and Graves hyped his long awaited return.

The beast incarnate, Brock Lesnar smiled, as he pointed a finger towards the ring, initially against the initiative, but on board when he was provided with a financial incentive, along with the lighter workload of appearances, he folded. Plus, when he visited NXT, Lexa was the only Superstar willing to take a German Suplex from him, that earned his respect. Greeting him like family, Lexa regarded him as such, much to the chagrin of the viewers.

"These people in this here ring, are _my_ family. I didn't have one as a kid growing up, I didn't have my father's help, or support getting in this industry. For everything I've accomplished from this business, I scratched and clawed for each opportunity I got, all of which I've earned. And for every competitor in the back, this is a warning. Thanks to every wound, scar, or bruise… thanks to the rejection of my own flesh towards me, I will exact vengeance, and take what's rightfully owed to me. For every night I cried, waiting for my father to come home after he left, he may regret those days, but I don't forget my enemies' mistakes. As an eye must have an eye, so _blood must have blood_ ," Lexa finished, lowering the microphone, delivering a statement with a flourish, staring intently into the camera, until they panned out to commercial break.

Once the break hit, she was accompanied to the back, immediately facing Clarke once she'd pulled back the curtains.

"I didn't know-" Clarke began, and not wanting to hear an apology, out of all things, from the woman, Lexa instinctively pulled her into a hug.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you," Lexa murmured into her shoulder, not wanting to move after a vulnerable showing. Clarke, thinking the better off it, tried to divert the subject, by bringing up the returning Superstar.

"Oh, look it's my Love Interest," she chirped, amusingly, at the former Next Big Thing.

" _Fake_ love interest," Lexa amended from her shoulder, before lifting her head back up, composed.

"Brock," he introduced, shortly. "Ready for our meet cute?"

"Oh God, Hunter, I'm regretting it already," Lexa groaned, as Paul nodded to confirm he heard, before getting an alert, signaling a scheduled promo.

"Guys, guys, we gotta clear out, Renee's popping the question. Lexa, I don't give a damn what Vince says, you delivered kid. You knocked it out of the park."

Swiftly exiting as a group, Clarke gave Lexa's hand a gentle squeeze, before slowly retreating with them. Staring away from the approaching camera, Lexa headed towards the locker room, as she was approached by Renee Young.

"Lexa, strong words from the new WWE Universal Champion, you've got the WWE Universe all abuzz! And, with this Instgram picture you took in the wee hours of the night with your title, and the WWE Women's Championship. Wanna tell us what it means?"

Endearing the world to the lover than Lexa was, she nervously rubbed the back of her neck, remembering the feeling of her crush on the blonde when they were younger, and how she'd used to act.

"Well, Clarke is, uh, a respectable Champion, and she deserves the title. I'm, uh, proud that she's the Women's Champion."

"Wow," Renee, awed, drawing the crowd's attention to Lexa's uncharacteristic behavior. "So, I'm guessing we'll be seeing the two of you face off in a Champion vs. Champion match, maybe?"

Maybe was an honest answer. It was truthful, and safe.

Reverting back to her character, Lexa's face hardened and stiffened, as she scowled.

"No," she simply answered, rolling her eyes, as she walked past Renee's mic, making her way into no man's land, the Superstar locker room.

 **What's next!**

 **Lexa vs. Ontari in a non-title match, Clarke vs. Bayley, part II!**

 **JOHNNNNN CENNNA!**

 **Lexa and Clarke will address the secret she kept, and they work it into her current feud with The Miz. Due to an injury, Finn has to be written out for a small period, in which he will return to feud with Randy Orton. Due to these circumstances, down the line, Clarke and Lexa are forced to consider working a match together after pressure from WWE Executives reigns down on them. Lexa is open to this, but Clarke strongly opposes this.**

 **Triple H has to address the dissenters, and due to their lower card/ mid card status, is nearly willing to release Superstars that refuse to put over Lexa and Clarke. Most of the upper card members support Lexa and Clarke, because they retain Main event status, something the rest of the Superstars resent. The Women's Division is split between two factions either feeling like their title has been diminished, and overjoyed that there are two titles to compete for.**

 **Unlike the Freebird Rule, Brock's defense of the WWE Universal Championship does not indicate he is a co-Champion. Much like Booker T enlisted Randy Orton as a substitute to defend his US Championship, the rules work similarly here. Depending on her booking, Lexa will use this clause to her benefit.** **Brock will work with Lexa and Clarke, and is booked to be Clarke's "love interest". This is merely a front to give Brock a more humorous sub-story to humanize him as a character, as well as tie Clarke and Lexa's storyline together.**

 **Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn lead the pack of those in support of Clexa. To prove their point, they book themselves to lose to Clarke and Lexa, in convincing, and humorous fashion. #FightForever**


	7. Wanheda

**Just to start, as the commentary teams do not follow canon, nor do the ring announcers, or WWE Superstars. On RAW, Lillian Garcia is the ring announcer, and Justin Roberts is the Smackdown Live announcer.**

 **The WWE roster, as well, breaks away from what's on screen. While many of the male Superstars, such as the club members, remain on their respective brands, much of the female Superstars were shuffled around to provide for more feuds. To balance the heel/faces on shows, Sasha was traded to the Smackdown Live brand for Nikki Bella- not a demotion, but to feud with newer competitors-, as several NXT Superstars were drafted to bolster several releases (i.e: Eva Marie, Alicia Fox, Paige, and Summer Rae). Asuka was called up to RAW, and immediately traded to Smackdown for both Octavia, and Nia Jax. As such, their respective rosters appear as such:**

 **WWE RAW Division: Clarke (babyface), Lexa (heel, tweener), Bayley (babyface), Nikki Bella, (heel/face), Charlotte (heel), Ontari (heel, demoted to NXT), Raven (face), and Octavia (tweener). Featured male Superstars are Finn Bálor (babyface), Brock Lesnar (recurring heel/face), Seth Rollins (heel turned face), Chris Jericho (tweener), Enzo and Cass (faces), Prince Roan (heel), Kevin Owens (heel), and Sami Zayn (babyface). Bellamy (face) will be in some feuds and matches, but will not be focused on as heavily as the others; this is partly due to the "club" having backstage influence, and politics also take a role in his booking, despite the fan reactions. While Roman Reigns (face turned heel) is part of the "club" I allude to, he is not heavily featured as much in my story- sorry, I'm not a big fan of the Roman Empire.**

 **WWE Smackdown Live Division: Sasha Banks (babyface/heel), Becky Lynch (babyface), Carmella (face), Alexa Bliss (heel), Maryse (currently non-active, heel), Natalya (face/heel), Nia Jax (heel), and Asuka (face). Featured male Superstars are AJ Styles (babyface), Dean Ambrose (heel), John Cena (babyface, heel turn in the works…?), Randy Orton (face), Dolph Ziggler (tweener), The Miz (heel), The New Day (faces) and Bo Dallas (heel, but comedic relief). Due to Lexa being a fan of a released Superstar, she gains points with some of the locker room when she gets them to re-sign with the WWE.**

 **WWE Monday Night Raw**

The locker room Lexa entered was a war zone. Divided on their stances were the WWE RAW female Superstars, attempting to absorb her promo, as well as its possible implications. Was Lexa merely getting the rub, because she had a famous relative in the industry, and the WWE sought to exploit it?

Was her promo a work, something that they were supposed to wonder was real or fake, or a shoot?

One particular glare in the WWE Universal Champ's direction, was her opponent.

"Nice to know it still helps to have a dad in the business to be a Champion," she drawled, as an onlooking Bayley observed, unsure what to make of this.

"I didn't lie, no one knew my father was Titus. That's why none of you knew, if any exec heard it, I'd have been called up a _long_ time ago," Lexa snapped back, defensively. She felt uneasy at the thought that could possibly be running through everyone's minds at this rate, that she didn't earn her spot. Even Octavia, a running mate on NXT with her, was folding her arms, shaking her head.

"You know, I thought being the best meant something Lex," the Warrior spoke out, expressing her hurt, unlike Ontari, who was taking intentional shots at her. "Now we know you just came here for the glory. Screw women's wrestling, right? Just take all of the credit yourself?"

At the mention, Bayley perked her head up, unfamiliar with the duo, but nonetheless interested. The Four Horsewomen started the revolution of Women's Wrestling, the Hugster would be damned if she'd let _anyone_ impede on that progress.

"Ontari is merely upset that her unsafe work practices are finally catching up to her, and she has to job out," Lexa elaborated, rolling her eyes, before addressing Octavia. "But you and I have never had any issue, so I'll tell you what I can. I'm here to give every female an opportunity to prove they're world class, I meant that. A lot of us get more pops than the boys, and hell, you get cheered more than Roman Reigns at this point!"

Ontari had a succinct rebuttal, but noticing Clarke's promo on the tv monitor in the locker room, held back, as Lexa focused on the screen.

"So, who is Clarke Griffin?" Tom Phillips asked, as she heard the familiar chuckle of her girlfriend. Pre-recorded in an empty arena, the echo only made it more endearing.

"Well uh, I'm just your average girl-"

Cued to her launching herself off of a ladder onto an opponent.

"… and I happen to be the WWE Women's Champion."

They played a vignette of some of Clarke's best moves, her signature high flying maneuvers, OMG moments, and ended it on a positive note, the end of her final match, where she received a standing ovation from the crowd.

Humorously, Clarke played this off, as being a fun-loving, approachable person.

"I mean, after my coffee of course, I'm kindof a nightmare in the morning."

"Although the WWE Universe has dubbed you the 'Sky Princess' for your high flying antics, you've gained many fans in another circuit, the karaoke scene."

Genuinely (or was this a work?) Clarke blanched, before quickly asking, "Wait, what?"

Lexa couldn't hide a grin as Triple H shamelessly poured some of her most treasured pictures on television, many of them candid pics with Clarke and her fans. One video played, recording Clarke singing along with the fans to the tune of Sami Zayn's theme song.

"That wasn't beer, guys," Clarke pointed at her monitor, attempting to defend herself. "That was just... well, I don't really remember what happened, but at least we had a good night," she deflated. The live crowd laughed at this, as Lexa beamed proudly.

"So you like to have a good time?" Tom questioned, as Clarke threw up her hands, as if to suggest she was at a loss.

"You could say that," Clarke muttered as another video played, much to her chagrin.

After her NXT Women's Championship win, Lexa fondly remembers Clarke, not usually a fan of drinking, despite what her promo was suggesting, celebrating at the bar with the after show crowd. In that outing, a college fraternity would show up, jeering her male fan base. Feeding into the encouragement of the raucous fans behind her, and deciding against her girlfriend's sound advice of ignoring them, a tipsy Clarke defended the guys, challenging one of them to a drinking contest.

Before this, Lexa believed her lover was a lightweight, but Clarke had the heart of an underdog champion, albeit one that needed a stomach pumping afterwards. In an effort to salvage the name of professional wrestling fans, to MMA fans, Clarke lasted about a minute in a keg stand, before the guy teetered off, nearly falling over. Channeling some of Lexa's heel mannerisms, she held up her title to herself, promptly blurting the unintelligible word "Wanheda".

And thus, the legend of Wanheda was born, as her fans began to chant Wanheda right behind her, lifting her up triumphantly.

For obvious reasons, heavy editing was involved, but they captured the intimate moment with the fans, as Clarke smiled lazily into the crowd, a true people's Champion that night.

Lexa was thankful in part that they edited her worried panicking from the sidelines, as well as Clarke violently retching on the poor guy once she was let down.

At this, Clarke was blushing, at a sight she certainly didn't expect to see, considering how much trouble she thought she'd be in after it happened. By sheer luck, and her loving girlfriend, her hangover was cleverly explained away as food poisoning, before Triple H and Stephanie sent funny emoji's and GIFS of her night out.

"Keg stand champion, karaoke champion, WWE Women's Champion, is there anything you can't do?" Phillips deadpanned, as if he were Barbara Walters on 20/20.

"To be honest, I can't remember that night," she answers, playfully laughing.

"Well, you have it here first, WWE Universe. Clarke Griffin, or should I say, Wanheda?"

The promo cuts out, but not before it gets an NXT shot of Clarke shrugging, fading to black with her logo and name. For obvious reasons, Bayley has left, and Lexa hears Michael Cole gush over Clarke, while Corey Graves gives, in her mind, more meaningful insight.

Quickly, this transitions into Clarke's entrance, still her old video package and theme, until her new gimmick catches on. With it, Lexa predicts her moveset will also incur a reboot, which she hopes is for the better.

"And your _girlfriend's_ the Women's Champion," Ontari comments snidely in Lexa's ear, interrupting as she was thoroughly invested in Clarke v. Bayley, part 2. "She's going over Bayley in her debut, and the rematch? I call bs."

" _Listen_ , Ontari," Lexa seethes, gripping her arm for good measure. "I'm letting you off with a warning. You tried to injure her, and they know it. Now you can _try_ and hurt me, but if you talk about what you _think_ you know, I will absolutely _bury_ you. I'm sending you off as a hero, which is more than you deserve, considering your track record."

With no leverage, Ontari was at a loss, and backed down, carefully. Octavia, still hurt by the seemingly underhanded tactics of their new WWE Universal Champion, stated her final piece.

"If this is to push just you and Clarke, count me out."

"You're _not_ ," Lexa insisted, as she maintained eye contact with the Warrior. "Remember Trikru?"

Her coy smile betraying her, Octavia could only smile, as she fondly remembered tagging with Lexa as part of the stable, including herself, and (still on NXT) Lincoln.

"… Are you gonna pull a Kevin Owens on me?" Octavia accused, also recalling that Lexa was now a baddie.

"My lips are sealed," Lexa suspiciously answered, as she grinned, considering another good story to pursue.

 **What's next!**

 **Clarke vs Bayley ends in some controversy!**

 **Prince Roan was initially picked to take out Finn on RAW to further their feud, and give him a much needed rest, this was changed last minute, both to serve the club's needs, and to promote the Clexa storyline. Unfortunately, Ontari's actions negatively affected him, as the club views him to be a possible risk to work with in lieu of Finn's injury at a live event, and his major push becomes a major jobbing effort.**

 **On Smackdown Live, John Cena gives his opinion on Clarke and Lexa, and nearly spoils the secret storyline!**

 **The Smackdown writers seek to bury Lexa in Miz's promos. In turn, Lexa recruits Maryse to further their storyline.**

 **Clarke's got beef! Who's it gonna be with?**


	8. And The Crowd Goes Wild

**I seriously originally planned for Lexa's Finisher to the female Superstars to be the TKO, then Nikki Bella debuted it at Summerslam. And I originally wrote out Finn shortly to be injured, which he then really did get injured… at Summerslam. This is only a little weird…**

 **Fans of The 100 will be familiar with Ontari's Finisher, as it appears in episode 3x09, if anyone needed a visual.**

Clarke waited next to the curtains, as Bayley made her entrance, a humbled, but still happy Hugster. Unusually accompanied by Finn Balor, Clarke listened to commentary as they praised the former Champion, waiting patiently, as she knew Bayley was to make a short promo. How she would proceed out was 90% up to her, the rest depended on what Bayley had to say.

Earning some cheers from the crowd, Bayley gave them a minute to settle as she took a small breath, focusing on a small part of the audience to glance at.

"I know last week was a hard pill to swallow, losing the WWE Women's Championship, but… I did," Bayley admitted, holding her hands out, as she looked into her empty left hand, void of a title.

"Guys, it's… it's okay, though! I have to say, Clarke was the better woman last week, and tonight, I hope to regain my Championship, and bring it back home. And I mean, she seems kinda cool," Bayley murmured, as she made a face, tilting her mic to the side.

"But, I'm not just out here to announce something, guys, oh yeah, _Finn_ is here!" she exclaimed, turning to him with purely radiating smile, as the crowd cheered for him.

"And yes, Finn has been sad for the past week since losing his Championship. I've tried to give him hugs, even Legos, guys, _Legos_. You know how much he loves those, and still nothing."

Bayley paused, for a moment, to let him express his feelings, as he nodded his head in agreement, frowning expressively.

Cutting herself off short, rather giddily, Bayley cut to the chase. "But tonight, Finn said he had an announcement, and he wanted to make it here tonight, so without further ado, Finn!"

As he lifted the microphone to speak, Finn gauged the WWE Universe, many upset that he was screwed over, and he wasn't even pinned! Over the Finn chants, and Give him a Hug chants, he held his mic up, then vocally cleared his throat.

"Guys, last week, was rough, I gotta be honest with ya. I mean, I fought Prince Roan, but I can tell you with a hundred percent clarity on the matter that when I walked down this ramp, the last person I thought would take my title, was Lexa."

The WWE Universe, taking this as a cue to boo her, followed along with tradition. Sighting this, Finn held his hand up, in an attempt to clarify his stance.

"No, don't get me wrong, Lexa is an outstanding competitor! She is!" he argued, despite the boos this assessment earned. "Hands down, Lexa is a capable Champion, but to say that I want to fight her, I can't. I have honor, and regardless of how Lexa won the WWE Universal Championship, in good faith I will not fight her for the title, out of respect."

Finn let this statement also collect some boos, knowing the fans would take this as him backing away from the match, and letting Lexa squash some other jobbers.

Wanting to ease some of the harsher boos, Finn cut them off, his hand cutting through the air to indicate he was again going to correct him.

"Listen, my mother always taught me to never hit a girl. But… she never said Bayley couldn't!" he nearly roared, as Bayley waited with bated breath for confirmation to begin jumping in anticipation.

"Yes, Bayley, WWE Universe! Citing the Lexa Clause, I choose Bayley as my substitute to face Lexa for the WWE Universal Championship!" Finn announced, almost rocking, as Bayley shook the ring, jumping up and down with excitement, as he pulled her into a massive hug.

Rather humorously, Finn changed the inflection of his voice, as he encouragingly shouted, "Now, start the match, so Bayley can win back her title!"

Stone-faced by the implications of the promo, and how it made Clarke feel almost like an afterthought, she initially was upset, furious, before she gave it a moment of consideration. Thinking that Lexa would book her that way, would mean she didn't believe in her storytelling or decision making abilities.

For some reason, she was playing a face, against a face, in a small rivalry. But, if she was right, where was there to go after Bayley? Clarke could only think the answer, knowing the outcome to this match, wasn't up.

As her entrance music hit, Clarke pulled back the curtain, and despite herself, the angry emotions she'd meant to keep in check held true, and the commentary team picked right up on it.

"Clarke Griffin, the new Women's Champ, not looking too happy, after Finn's words, here," Cole analyzed, as Corey took to explaining this to the WWE Universe.

"Michael, this isn't about the WWE Universal Title, and Clarke has every reason to feel a bit overshadowed here. She's not some pushover, she proved that here on her first night! Clarke isn't someone to overlook!"

Knowing that running in and calling an attack would look almost heelish, Clarke instead appealed to the fans, sighting one holding up a hastily written, "Wanheda" on it. Walking down the ramp, she fist-bumped and high fived some of the audience members, before taking the sign and holding it up.

Catching on, the crowd started to chant "Wanheda", as she hugged the fan, and handed back his sign.

"Wanheda," Corey stated, in almost disbelief. "I've no idea what that word means."

Sliding into the ring, Clarke could hear Cole snarkily respond, "I think it means she had a little too much fun one night, Corey."

Finn politely exited the ring, as Bayley stood her ground, darting her eyes in every which way, cautious of the Champion. Noting her presence, Clarke turned her back to strike her pose on the turnbuckle, lifting up her Championship title, as she pointed to it, before dropping back down to the ring.

" _That_ , is what it's all about," Corey emphasized, as Clarke could imagine he was annoyed as well. "The prestigious WWE _Women's_ Championship."

Agreeing, Cole expanded upon Corey's words, "Bayley, one of the Four Horsewomen to revolutionize women's wrestling, facing one of the most explosive products of the movement, Clarke Griffin."

"And you've gotta bet, Bayley's got Clarke's number," Corey sneered, as Clarke and Bayley engaged in some pre-match chitchat, Bayley audibly stating that she was coming to get back her title, as she pointed at it, while the referee asked Clarke to surrender it.

Lilian Garcia announced them, to a nearly even applause, the crowd slightly favoring the underdog Hugger.

Usually, Clarke could work a match and tune out the crowd, or in the least, direct their fan chants back to the action in the ring. With an unlikely raucous WWE Universe, Clarke was thrown for a loop, when they started to chant, "Wanheda", along with "Let's go Bayley", as they tied up for their second bout.

"Again, a collar and elbow tie up, as Clarke, knocks down the challenger!" Cole called, as Clarke stood, not too proudly, but able to bring across the message: 'Hey, I'm no pushover.'

"Clarke here to prove a point. With Finn and Bayley maybe viewing Clarke in the rearview mirror, she's here to tell them, _listen_. I'm the Champion for a reason. This isn't going to be a walk in the park."

"And it's doing well against the psyche of Bayley, who's all amped up now!"

Hugged out, Bayley was angered, as she slapped the mat, coming face to face with Clarke. Whispering out shots, she swung and missed wildly, as Clarke swung, missing wildly, before Bayley extended an arm, Irish Whipping her towards the ropes. Rebounding, Clarke executed a dropkick, landing on her front, as Bayley fell back. Charging towards her, Bayley executed a dropkick of her own, as Cole and Graves called the action.

"Once again, we're seeing the two competing minds here, with Bayley and Clarke! Who is the better competitor?" he asked, pressing the urgency of the contest as they cut to break. "Who is going to leave here tonight the WWE Women's Champion?"

During the commercial break, Clarke and Bayley continued to fight to a stalemate. When takedowns, knee drops, and elbows failed, one clothesline felled Bayley to the outside of the ring. Knowing her move was almost banned, Clarke attempted to repeat the Stargazing move, instead, Bayley grabbed her legs mid-run, adjusted them, and positioned her on her shoulders, executing a powerbomb on the lesser giving outside mat.

Clarke thought the new move would give Bayley a new sense of tenacity, and the fans would appreciate her in the rematch, looking a bit stronger. When the crowd popped, Clarke was over the moon, despite selling the move well.

Then, the audience pulled a Full Sails 360. They broke kayfabe, they broke the unspoken rule, and they were going to ruin the surprise storyline, without even knowing it.

Emerging from the "Let's Go Bayley! Wanheda!" chant that had taken over from the start, the smarks in the crowd confused the newer fans, booming with the thunderous cheer, "Clarke likes Lexa".

Bayley, taking it on herself to quell some of this, grabbed Clarke, calling a spot, to hush up the crowd. Quickly, she Irish Whipped Clarke towards the corner of the barricade, as Clarke reversed it, throttling Bayley into it, as she sold the hard landing.

"Clarke and Bayley, getting a little more aggressive in this rematch, this has to be a result of some homework being done," Corey commented, praising each girl for their composure, despite the rattling crowd chant abound.

With a bit of malice, Cole chuckled. "What are they chanting, can you, can you hear that?"

"I've no idea," Graves deadpanned, and Clarke could feel his head shaking from her position outside the ring, as she carefully climbed the barricade, running across it, to execute Stargazing from the top, as Bayley's head bounced off, Clarke landing on her hands to soften the fall.

Checking on her to make sure she was alright, Clarke brought Bayley back to the apron to call for a few moves, mounting Bayley's offense. As she rolled Bayley into the ring, she went for a pin, a noted improvement from her first match. Leading Bayley to a corner, Clarke attempted to knock her into the turnbuckle, only to enrage her opponent. While Bayley shook her head, Clarke tried another ring post, to no avail. After the fourth ring post, Bayley popped out, with an exploder suplex.

Slowly rising from the hard bump, Clarke wobbled, as Bayley executed a spinning elbow off of the top rope, then taunting to the crowd, a signal for the soon to come Bayley to Bayley suplex.

Able to grab Clarke in the hug, the newly hailed "Wanheda" hugged back, pulling her overhead for a northern lights suplex, bridging this for a pinfall.

The first pinfall, a near one, was going to be one of the few for the night, they'd already decided.

After the kickout, Clarke slung Bayley to the nearest corner, growing a bit frustrated with the cat calling and the slogan that grew legs, and roared throughout the arena. Even the referee had to ask again when Clarke told them her next move, Bayley worried, but trusting the new Champion, feigning taking blows.

"Clarke and Bayley caught up in no man's land here, what's gonna happen?" Corey hyped, a little on edge himself.

"Bayley and Clarke exchanging blows on the top turnbuckle here, as Bayley seems to gain the advantage here," Cole announces, as Bayley, knowing the difficulty of the spot, opted to hop down, instead of rattle Clarke by attacking with a high risk move.

Backing against the ropes, she called the next move, as she leaned on them to start a run, Clarke ducking her first attack, then catching Bayley with her Finisher, "Down to Earth".

Not wanting to provide false pretenses, Clarke let the commentary team shout the action, as she took to the top turnbuckle, deliberate in her motions enough for Bayley to stir. Ungluing the in-ring chemistry they had already built upon, Clarke taking her time also shook up the audience, who noticed Clarke wasn't going for an immediate pin, but instead taking a risky shot in order to retain her title.

"What in the world is Clarke doing?" Graves groaned, in touch with the audience's worries.

"She's taking enough time, that may cost her the Women's Championship," Cole replied, a slight lift in his voice, as Clarke steadied herself on the top rope, determined. She'd been able to use this move in NXT, so her opponent was familiar with the move, but never had an experience taking it. When the ref waved her off, Bayley teetered, slowly staggering to face Clarke, who launched a somersault in mid-air, catching Bayley on the way down as she intentionally fell, to sell a Shooting Star DDT.

"OH MY GOODNESS! I HAVE NEVER SEEN THAT BEFORE IN MY LIFE!" Cole's voice rung on Clarke's ear, as she sold the move as well, as she did re-aggravate the pain in her side, but was still likely not as sore as Bayley, who took the move. Tapping each girl to make sure neither was hurt, Clarke gingerly rolled over, sliding an arm over Bayley to make a cover.

Clarke knew the start and finish of the match, and she knew as a result of a high spot, she was supposed to stay down, for a segment, but she didn't know why.

The referee called for a long two count, one the fans nearly exploded upon, after Bayley just barely lifted her shoulder up. Rolling over, Clarke sold her injury, as Graves and Cole discussed her NXT injury, and past difficulties.

When she lifted her head, Bayley held her head, and called for her Finisher after exchanging blows, a move Clarke questioned, but complied with. Staggering to their feet, Bayley swung first, landing a blow, as they dictated the crowd pace, the audience slightly favoring Clarke for her efforts. Gaining the advantage, Clarke was a bit overzealous, and taking advantage of the greener wrestler's mistake, Bayley hit the Bayley to Bayley suplex, the thunderous crowd imploding at the comeback of their former champ.

Counting with the referee, he was immediately cut off, Clarke presuming this was what would cause the false finish, interference.

* * *

Brock tugged the referee out of the ring, as Lexa slid in, Clarke could hear, from the booming commentary, and the massive crowd pop for the Champion. Tugging Bayley off of her, Lexa cradled her head, before positioning her into a powerbomb stance, giving the crowd pause as Cole teased a possible Pedigree. Instead, she pulled off her NXT Finisher, a powerbomb onto her knees, a play on the move she liked to call the Bow to Your Commander. Because her gimmick wasn't yet established on the roster, Cole and Graves couldn't say this, instead calling the move as they saw it in the ring.

Collapsing, Bayley feigned dead weight, as she whispered for Clarke to roll out of the ring, as the audience again popped, as Finn attacked Brock, who immediately set him down, with an F-5 to the ring post. Not only did this serve to explain away Finn's injury, and inability to compete against Prince Roan in tonight's contest, it also could further along a storyline between him and Brock in the near future, when he'd return.

Meant to put the segment's focus on the Universal Champion, Clarke complied, albeit upset with Lexa's suggested finish. How did this make her look any good, if anything, this was establishing Bayley as the ultimate babyface. What was Lexa trying to accomplish here?

Breathing heavily, Lexa seethed, as Brock joined her in the ring signaling for a microphone, and snatching it, once it was presented to her. However, as soon as she was ready to speak up, Vince McMahon's music played, as an impressed Lexa had to hold back a smile.

Despite what he said, Vince knew Lexa had talent, enough to begrudgingly participate in her story, in earnest. She'd let him get his piece, then, well, it got more chaotic from there.

"Cut the music- cut the- goddammit! Just hold on one goddamn second!" he barked, stomping his way down the ramp in McMahon fashion, as Bayley sprawled out of the ring, tucking herself away into the left corner barricade, as Clarke slumped in the right corner barricade.

"Banned moves, you think this is a joke, HUH?" Vince continued to yell, focusing, not on the WWE Universal Champion as Clarke and the fans had assumed, but instead her, the WWE Women's Champion herself. "YOU COULD'VE KILLED BAYLEY, YOU COULD'VE- You're- YOUUU'REEE FIREDDDDD!"

On the outside, Clarke was holding her neck, as Lexa stood in the ring, stoically. Bayley slipped out, as quietly as she could, kayfabing injury from the match in her exit. In this moment, Clarke understood what her girlfriend meant to accomplish, and wanted to smile, despite having to grimace, and pretend her entire world just crashed before her.

Challenging Vince McMahon to put her over, and give her a chance actually worked. The madman himself was ready to make Clarke a top babyface with this nearly sadistic move, as the crowd, fully empathizing with the woman who just risked life and limb to entertain them, voiced their extreme discontent, all united in shouting the phrase "this is bullshit!"

"And _you_ ," the former Chairman accusingly pointed at Lexa, making his way into the ring. He'd meant to keep talking, but hearing the raucous crowd pop loudly for Clarke, let them have their moment.

"SHUT UP!" he hollered back at them, knowing this would incite their rage even further.

"You come out here, and disrespect the WWE Universal Championship, and then interfere with the WWE Women's Championship. I oughta fire you too!" he shouted, a rather earnest assessment than just cutting a promo.

Unsure of how to still feel about Lexa, the crowd kept chanting for Clarke, who was ungraciously getting up to leave the arena. She initially thought she was going to drop the title, or be attacked, hence the meet-cute. The writer's last minute change was, in her mind, _so much better_ than that.

Catching this, Brock entered the ring, as Vince huffed, prepping himself to say his iconic phrase to Lexa herself. Right behind him, the crowd nearly imploded, as they could tell what was next.

As soon as "You're" was uttered, Brock yanked the former WWE Chairman his way, lifting him in his shoulders for an F-5. In most stories, around this time, Stephanie or Shane would come around, to check on their father, and start a rivalry with their father's attacker. This time, was notably different.

To sell their allegiance to their Champion, Stephanie rushed out, accompanied by the worried looking Triple H, as Clarke vacated the arena, Brock taking the cue and following close behind.

Much to the audience's chagrin, instead of checking on her father, she exaggerated Lexa's dismay, pretending to dote on the Champion, and asking her if she was alright. Triple H, ever the parental figure, stepped in, patting Lexa on the shoulders, as one more time, the show cut to a commercial break.

* * *

The writing team, using this as a means to quickly change Clarke's promo, they caught her up on the fallout of the previous segment. Lexa wanted to slowly, but surely build Clarke and Lexa's relationship from the ground, but upon Vince's terms of agreeing to put the high flyer over with the crowd, and to scrap her old gimmick for a new one, he thought it best to expedite both processes.

Clarke would stay out of ring for a short while, meanwhile promoting the WWE as she often did, in public bars and clubs. This small bit between her and Brock would turn him into a tweener, as he held a reputation for injuring other Superstars on the show. Against his ideal storyline, Brock committed to Lexa's vision once he learned that his involvement was only meant to mask an entirely different agenda, and he wouldn't fall into the dreaded love story angle.

Also, he was free to take out top names whenever called to. Considering Paul Heyman was taking a small break to write books on pro wrestling, Brock didn't mind taking the small limelight to work on his mic work.

While Lexa was in the ring, the camera was meant to follow her, heavily distraught about being fired, as Brock rather conspicuously tailed behind her.

"Clarke, hey, wait!"

"What?" Clarke nearly shouted back, able to feign duress well, considering the circumstances. Once she'd realized who she just barked at, however, she stiffened.

"I-I I didn't mean to, I just got fired-" the Champion stumbled over her words, as Brock hinted at a smile, before holding out something she'd left behind, the WWE Women's Championship.

"You left this," he remarked, as Clarke gazed at it, eyes watering as she shook her head. That title had meant so much to her, just to lose it in a short time, over a fluke. Reaching for it, despite the knowledge that it'd likely be vacated, she stopped herself.

"No, no I'm fired, I'm no longer the-" she began to explain, as Brock pressed the Championship back into her shoulder, prompting her to take hold of it.

"I didn't see you lose out there. RAW just may have lost a great competitor, _and_ their Women's Champion," Brock concluded, taking his leave, but not before lingering a hand on Clarke's shoulder, as if to wish her the best of luck.

Gaping, Michael Cole and Graves reintroduced the live audience, and the viewers at home back to the action, as Lexa remained in the ring, having watched Clarke's promo in the arena. As per Vince, he decided to book both women's matches one after the other to incite the WWE Universe, and keep up the momentum. Along with this, Lexa giving up the main event of the night to Kevin Owens vs. Roman Reigns, a one-off. After this, based on the reaction the match garnered, Vince decided whether Lexa's opinion was actually relevant, considering she told him to his face, albeit in private, that not even Satan himself could get booed more than Roman was, and if he wanted the correct reaction, she'd get him over with the crowd properly.

Clarke didn't know what this entailed, but she was more than overjoyed to learn that this would involve her working with her hero, Kevin Owens. She left the arena with small joy knowing this, despite having to sell being fired, as she sought out Vince McMahon's limo, awaiting a super secretive meeting, something she learned was a thing of his, once he stopped Lexa right before the show to reluctantly agree to her terms.

Now, Clarke waited, as she watched Lexa from the monitor, biting her lip nervously for her partner. Clarke knew her success in the ring attributed to being able to blank out the commentary team, and perform in spite of the rowdy members of the crowd, she knew this exact thing would shake up Lexa, enough to rattle her performance. Much of Lexa's character egged on, and encouraged negative reactions, but them attacking Clarke, personally, spoiling the plot to the story they were telling?

That'd prompt a harsh reaction from Lexa, who was trigger happy when it came to ditching a script, and going out for herself. Clarke feared that the raucous crowd would enrage Lexa enough to start a war, if not with words, with holds. And considering her opponent for the night, Ontari, Lexa thought she was being professional to an extent by even working with her.

Back in the ring, Triple H and Stephanie fawned over Lexa, much like their prized fighter, as she nodded her compliance in facing Ontari. Pleased with the fanfare she'd earned, along with the reaction, Lexa mulled over the crowd chants, and how to divert this- the only way she'd found was Clarke's firing, and putting out a decent match.

And with Ontari, a decent match depended on which side of the bitchy pillow she slept on the night before. If she was bitter, and in it for herself, she'd stiff Lexa, knowing she didn't have much to lose, and it's make the World Champion of the WWE's flagship brand look terrible. Yet, Ontari knew she'd be fired on the spot for this, which Clarke hoped would be enough for her to keep her feelings in check.

Azgeda's anthem played, as Michael Cole and Corey Graves noted her entrance with small importance, instead, still focused on what they'd just witnessed, Clarke's firing. Replaying the scene, Lexa smirked, what the smarks and casual fans alike would see as brash arrogance and joy at the expense of their former Champion. In truth, she was proud as ever to get such a visceral reaction from her girlfriend on the fly.

They'd sent Vince McMahon out on a gurney, playing up on his injuries, as Cole solemnly addressed the WWE Universe, giving the crowd some pause, before the camera peeled back to the ring, a still smug Champion, with the Family by her side.

Lilian announced Ontari, Clarke instantly deducing that the Ice Nation member was still portraying a heel, despite last week's events, likely to play up on the fact that in NXT, they were often rivals, and Lexa portrayed a babyface, to Ontari's heel, along with the other pink elephant in the room, the notion that neither of them could stand the other. Brashly making an entrance, she charged for Lexa, landing straight elbows, as the referee pushed her back, pulling Lexa aside as the Champion swung an honest closed fist, just barely missing her opponent.

This perked the interest of Triple H, who immediately jumped on the ring apron, as Lexa waved him off, shouting that she was okay, a split second decision she made to salvage the match.

Cursing under her breath, the referee asked her if she wanted to compete still, knowing the volatile nature of Ontari, as Lexa nursed a busted lip, waiting to call for the ring bell. Nodding him off, she smiled defiantly towards the crowd, smirking.

While the referee was cleaning her lip, she stayed in the ring corner, not selling her injury, as Ontari decided to go for broke, taunting the audience and mocking them. Laughing as she held onto the turnbuckle ropes, Lexa mouthed "you're gonna get it", over the confused, but hyped commentary. Unlike Clarke, she couldn't focus while listening to them, or she'd nitpick at her own matches. The crowd however, was a completely different animal she was unsure of, now knowing Ontari was going to be uncooperative.

Among the boos of the crowd, Lexa decided to play the face, if just for one match, just to beat Ontari and be praised for it, in her second official match on the main roster.

Relaying the start of the match to the ref and The Family, Lexa popped out of the corner, wiping her lip as she cautiously circled the ring, soaking in the fan chants. Without much the crowd could go on, the Full Sails fans won out the crowd, as Lexa heard a familiar callout in her NXT matches, "Jus Drein, Jus Daun" (the phrase coined in her native tongue, Trigedasleng, to mean "Blood must have blood").

'Ah, the smarks are out to play', Lexa thought fondly, while she shook out her hand, a sign to Ontari that she was coming out of the gate with an open fist. Ducking, Ontari clubbed Lexa near the back of her head, a fake shot, but still firm. Tossing Lexa into the ring post, this gave the Champion a moment of respite, oddly enough, as she had to fake extreme pain.

Slightly overselling it, Lexa came out of the turnbuckle holding her shoulder meekly. Ontari, calling for a neck breaker, leaned her against the ropes, whipping her to the other side.

As she caught her and executed the swinging neckbreaker, Lexa held onto her neck, kicking the canvas in pain. Ontari was not a fun opponent to face, as she didn't like to take bumps. The key to Lexa's matches with her always depended on her making the Ice Nation, and its members, look strong.

The live members of the crowd caught onto the odd ring chemistry as soon as the match spread wings, the younger fans cheering Lexa, despite themselves, and the older fans going off on a tangent, yelling " _Kick her out a window!_ ".

Preparing to kick out at a one count, Lexa sorely wished she never kicked that unnamed stunt double during that promo. She was never going to live down the moment that led to uncountable memes, nearly derailing her WWE career.

Ontari, ever the heel, yanked Lexa by the hair after the one count, audibly shouting that she'd wished she'd stayed down. She took one arm, lifting it over her shoulder for a suplex, Lexa blocking it, once, to call a few moves in between, before Ontari managed to lift her.

Ever the versatile Superstar, Lexa cleanly hopped over her adversary, transitioning the reversal into an inverted backbreaker, a move she coined from Randy, despite her misgivings upon using it. Familiar with the move, the crowd applauded, considering Lexa inarguably the "good guy".

Rebounding off of the move, as instructed, Lexa took a page out of another Superstar's book, Triple H, as she planted Ontari to the ground with a spinebuster, a little more forcefully than usual. Predictably, Ontari grimaced in pain, shouting loud enough for the audience to hear as Lexa turned her over for a near fall cover.

On commentary, Michael Cole was prattling on, using the time to verbalize Vince McMahon's sentiments of her, as Graves defended her, a firm advocate of the NXT Superstars, and a Paul Levesque guy himself. As they dueled on their headsets, Lexa for the most part ignored them, until Cole made the mistake of bringing up Clarke.

"- I wonder if Clarke thinks Lexa is at all to blame for her firing, I mean-" was all she heard, and it was enough to bring out the smarks in full force.

"LEXA LIKES CLARKE" echoed throughout the arena, as a result, and in that moment, Lexa couldn't have hated Michael Cole any more than she already did.

She rolled onto her stomach, still surprised from the near fall when she'd heard the soundbite, taken aback by creative's immediacy in pushing the story faster than she'd wanted to. Murmuring her next moves to the referee, she stalked towards the rightmost corner of the ring post, opposite the one Ontari was helping herself up from. Running hard at the corner, she landed an elbow against Ontari's face as her rival bounced off the turnbuckle, swinging another elbow, a kick that brought her rival to her knees, before she rebounded off the ropes behind her, as she kneed her rival in the face, a deafening sound left in its wake.

Pounding the mat, the Ice Nation stable member hardly sold the move, wobbling to her feet, as Lexa cursed under her breathe again, yelling for her opponent to stay the hell down. Arbitrarily, Ontari sunk down again, ordering Lexa to duck, and prepare for her Finisher, De-Throned, as she called it (in mockery of Lexa's Finishing maneuver), a jumping double knee take down. Stubbornly, Lexa cooperated, and when the move hit, the arena, filled with riled up crowd willing to admit the match was awesome, grew hushed at the prospect of the Champion being pinned, even if the title wasn't up for grabs. All they knew was that they weren't too fond of this Ontari chick, and for good reason.

Once she'd hit her Finisher, instead of going for a pin, she called for a spot that Lexa refused to take, instead dictating the end of the match. Kicking the back of Lexa's head to incite the crowd, and further stall, she made her way to the turnbuckle, as Cole and Graves notably remarked on this, knowing Ontari wasn't much of a flashy Superstar, and was a fish out of water when it came to top rope maneuvers. Insistent upon not taking the move, Lexa let the referee know she'd let Ontari fail and would get hurt if she didn't accept the finish.

Aware of the urgency of the situation, the ref maintained Ontari agree, as she voiced her agreement, changing the Split-Legged Moonsault, to a Diving Double Axe Handle, realizing she was way out of her depth once she'd it to the top turnbuckle.

Uneasy the crowd stirred for a bit, starting up the "Let's go Lexa chants" to rouse their anti-hero.

Breaking her own personal rule on professionalism, Lexa kip-upped right before Ontari jumped off, getting a shot to her midsection, before hitting her Finisher, Bow to Your Commander. Rougher than she normally would, Lexa covered her opponent, who thankfully had the sense to play her part when it counted most.

"Have fun in NXT!" Lexa bellowed right after the finish, to Triple H and Stephanie's disapproval, as they entered the ring to return her Championship to her shoulder, lifting each hand of hers. Playing up their NXT rivalry, Cole explained to the befuddled viewers the circumstances of this one-off match, the conclusion to the great Lexa/Ontari question, and an answer to a nagging question the WWE NXT fans wondered: who was the better wrestler?

Tonight, unequivocally, it was the WWE Universal Champion.

 **What's next!**

 **Ontari's exit gives the WWE Superstars something to consider.**

 **Smackdown live heads to Chicago, and Clarke may meet her match against the most vocal pro wrestling fans in the WWE.**

 **Lexa takes an interview with one of her favorite Superstars, who is also skeptical of her ambitious storyline.**

 **Vince and Lexa continue to butt heads creatively over the booking of Clarke, and Lexa concedes a major stipulation to ensure that the Frat Girl keeps her position in the company. Upon learning this, Clarke, never the one for pipe bombs, is allowed to shoot in a memorable moment.**

 **As they head full force towards their first PPV, a month after Smackdown's PPV, Backlash, Clarke and Lexa are pressured to fully flesh out their storyline two months before Wrestlemania. Some efforts are halted when Clarke unintentionally disrespects a club member.**

 **Clarke makes the save for Team Clexa, who are they able to get to re-sign?**


	9. Going Off-Script

**Hey everyone! Here's another installment, for your enjoyment!**

 **Just a note, I am aware that the WWE Performance Center is in Orlando, Florida. For storyline purposes, the site has branched out into many locations, to be accessible to Superstars whilst traveling. Also, Clarke and Lexa are three weeks fresh off of Wrestlemania, entering the Smackdown PPV, Backlash. Their next scheduled PPVs are, as follows:**

 **May 2020: Backlash (Smackdown)**

 **June 2020: Hell In a Cell (RAW)**

 **July 2020: Money In The Bank (Cross brand)**

 **August 2020: Summerslam (Cross brand)**

 **September 2020: No Mercy (Smackdown)**

 **October 2020: Unforgiven (RAW)**

 **November 2020: Survivor Series (Cross brand)**

 **December 2020: Judgement Day (RAW)**

 **January 2021: Armageddon (Smackdown)**

 **February 2021: Royal Rumble (Cross brand)**

 **March 2021: No Way Out (RAW)**

 **April 2021: WrestleMania (Cross brand)**

 **And now, onto the main event! :)**

 **WWE Performance Center Branch, Chicago, Illinois**

Exerting a great amount of effort, Lexa rose from her squat on the Smith machine, as she exhaled a harsh breath while completing her final rep. Once finished, she twisted her wrist, locking the barbell in place, as she strode over to her girlfriend, cheerfully, who tossed her a towel.

"Show off," Clarke mumbled on the bench, as Lexa smirked through the cloth, wiping the sweat off of her face.

"That's Dolph, babe, not me," her girlfriend quipped, taking her side as she nudged her shoulder. "And I believe you owe me a massage."

"Eh, I had a good session this morning. C'mere," she casually motioned, Lexa sat on the bench, Clarke rising to accommodate her, as she stood behind her, applying small pressure into her shoulders.

"So," Clarke began unsuspiciously, her tone cautious, "any progress on the Finisher? Or is that something you and Randy have to keep quiet for now?"

Sensing it was innocent enough, Lexa fielded the question honestly. "I've tried a bunch of things, and we've gone over videos, looked at other promotions. Nothing's really clicked for me."

"Mhm," Clarke affirmed, her lips pressing tight together. Working on Lexa's shoulder's, she squeezed a bit harder than she'd meant to, alerting Lexa to her state of mind.

"Clarke, if you're still mad about me not telling you-"

Without a single thought about denying it, Clarke jumped to her own defense.

"You never told me, in the ten years that we knew each other. In the eight that we _dated_ , Lexa. I thought we shared everything between those ropes with each other. When we got called up, together, was that a fluke? Did they only want you, and they brought me along, just because you were related to-"

It took a half second for Lexa to feel the oncoming of Clarke's racked sobs in frustration, before she whipped around to sooth her girlfriend.

"No, that wasn't it," Lexa responded firmly, palming a gentle hand against Clarke's cheek, as she held her waist, protectively.

Still, upon noting Clarke's sniffling, and non-response, Lexa gave an honest assessment. "You're insanely talented, and _everyone_ in NXT knew it. I took professional lessons, Clarke, everything I learned, you picked up on. When I told you what I wanted to do as at 14, you were already doing it, taking on real bullies. I'm never going to forget the days you spent, perfecting that Moonsault, how many times you landed hard on your ankle, but got back up, until you could land it clean. That's why I did what I did, because I think _you're_ the big star, Clarke. The brightest star to ever grace the WWE, and my life."

Touched by her nearly chemically sweet words, but harboring some resentment over her actions, Clarke nodded reluctantly.

"Always gotta be extra," she chuckled, despite her frustrations, slightly quelling at her girlfriend's praise-filled speech.

Lexa's trademark smirk shone against her sweating face as she replied, "Well yeah, for you."

"We're supposed to tell each other everything, you _promised_ me," Clarke insisted, as Lexa huffed a sigh.

"I don't see him as a father," Lexa whined, placing both hands on her girlfriend's cheeks to encourage her to make eye contact. "You, _you_ are my family. You didn't leave me as a kid, or let me be shipped from house to house, because you loved drugs more than me. Abby is my mother, your stepdad, Marcus, he's my dad. Two strangers, who let in a stray kid, all because their kid loved her. _They_ are my parents."

Clarke was more receptive to this more open, and emotional Lexa that was often hidden from much of the world. However, Lexa knew her, and why this hurt her, extending to the principle of the matter.

"I understand that," Clarke empathized, backing away from her girlfriend's embrace. "But, you still kept this secret from me, for _years_. It's not about who your father is, or was. My problem is that you didn't trust me enough to tell me. Even after Raven-" she breathed, tossing her hands out, while her lover dodged another touchy subject.

"I don't wanna talk about Raven," Lexa immediately responded, as Clarke folded her arms, gaining an unfortunate upperhand in their small argument.

"Well at some point, you'll want to. She's my next pick to feud with, and if we are going to share this story, I think I'd like to write a few chapters," she jabbed, attacking Lexa's secretive nature in regards to writing sessions and her training with Randy.

"Fine," the stubborn brunette conceded, rolling her eyes as she pulled out a script.

Finding the scribbles to be nearly incomprehensible, Clarke perused the packet, leafing through scrawls of notes, stars adorning many of the pages next to the letter C, notes here and there of major events listed, one in particular stopping Clarke in her steps, as she read along the lines.

"You- you've got five months of planning in here," she gaped, citing an open ended, abrupt ending to Lexa's writings, an emotional title loss. Option 1 had Clarke losing to Nikki Bella, a rather dull and uneventful motion that she attributed to wanting to please the club. Option 2 had Lexa lose the title in a more dramatic fashion, spurning Clarke's advances to cement her heel status, and propel their feud into Wrestlemania.

"Yeah," Lexa simply answered, lowering her eyes to the ground, as she often did when compliments came her way.

"I'm kindof, stuck," she admitted, when Clarke finished looking through the pages, her reaction inconclusive.

"Well, if it helps, I hate both options," Clarke deadpanned, watching Lexa bite her cheek, and harden her features, a product of stress.

"Not because they're bad, but because I know it's not all you," she continued, as Lexa lifted her head.

"I'm not fighting you, _ever_. I don't care if they fire me, you know how I feel about it," Clarke summarized. "You may be a jerk for not telling me about Titus, but I never want to hurt you."

While wholeheartedly agreeing with Clarke's premise, she couldn't support her immediate conclusion, and spoke up.

"We'd make for a good matchup, and Paul would trust us with the Main Event," Lexa countered, defending her choice. "Our chemistry has always been good, both inside and out of the ring, and I can't see anyone else putting on a better performance than us."

"I can," Clarke maintained, refusing to give up her stance, but lowering her hands so she doesn't look entirely intimidating, she drops her hands.

"Look, you're great at being the villain, and being the bad guy. Hell, it's fun, I love when you're just an ass for no reason, and riling people up out there, but this is different. This is _us_. The real thing."

"I know," Clarke began to fumble, as her eyes sought to maintain Lexa's eye contact, "you _know_ , if you give me some time, I'll learn to deal with the news about your father. But I'm serious about this Lexa, find another option or route to take. I'm not fighting the woman I love."

Again, Lexa could feel her partner begin to shake, as she carefully took the script, tossing it near her bag.

"It's just acting to me," she explained softly, eyes darting towards the ground again.

"It's bad writing," Clarke pointed out, giving the idea a small bit of thought. "Yeah, you manage to keep your character, and you give me the win, to make me happy, but where would we go from there? That feud essentially peaks us, and that's not even considering that in the process, we buried the _entire_ roster, because knowing you, your character still has the Championship."

"Okay, so no match," Lexa decisively states. "I go back to the drawing board-"

"Orrr, ask your loving girlfriend her opinion, and she might share them if she's not that annoyed with you," Clarke teased. "C'mon, be a romantic, Lexa, that's more your style."

"No!" Lexa replied, aghast. "That's- that's why I don't ask, the love angle _kills_ characters."

"A love angle never killed Triple H," Clarke lazily rebutted, with an evil grin.

Knowing this would quickly annoy Lexa, she took pleasure in another Lexa trademark, her scowl.

"You know, not every idea Triple H had was the greatest," she muttered, very aware that her argument was weak, at best.

"Yeah, but he's your idol, and I'm your girlfriend, so take your L, and sit back down. I've got some pretty big ideas myself."

Promptly Lexa obliged, ready to gag at a Valentine's Day themed of RAW, but Clarke's actual pitch wasn't so crazy at all. With her appreciation for the fine arts, and Lexa's love of acting, she sought a middle ground, a party. More specifically, a Masquerade Ball.

As they both were fans of Phantom of the Opera, Lexa gave this idea a strong, affirmative nod.

"And, Lexa, well in this, you're the good guy. In most events, people just, turn. Aside from John Cena, you'd probably be the first not to. It gives a nice contrast and a layer to the story, we work together, despite our allegiances. But, we never turn on each other. I think that could lead to good stories, unique ones."

Contemplating it for a moment, Lexa agreed, earning her a beaming smile from the Frat Girl.

"I think, that has a lot of promise," she admitted. After further consideration, and seeing Clarke's expecting face, Lexa added, "It fills in the spaces I had blank. But, I don't want a simple Romeo and Juliet story! If we're doing this, I don't want something cheesy."

"Oho!" Clarke huffed, almost in awe of Lexa's change of heart. "Looks like someone cares. By the way, Romeo and Juliet killed themselves, I'm pretty sure we can easily avoid a romance like that."

Lexa would argue, but Clarke was right. She only had to be told of the story's ending several thousand times, because every single English teacher in High School thought it was necessary reading, and Lexa couldn't be bothered with it.

And every time Clarke told her the ending, she was on the verge of winning an argument. So, naturally, Clarke loved Romeo and Juliet.

Lexa could see it now, as she envisioned a character of Clarke's creation: poetic, well read, and singing her praises in perfect sonnets. While she absolutely loved when Damien Sandow did it, Lexa felt it was just, _wrong_ for her character.

But, Clarke wanted the love angle. And Lexa, well, Lexa was in the doghouse for lying. So naturally, Lexa assumed Clarke would book her to job, in embarrassing fashion, to her idol, Kevin Owens.

If it could ease her mind about things, Lexa would face plant the mat and let Kevin Owens pin her cleanly. Hell, she'd make him look like the monstrous of heels, even worse than when Lita made Stone Cold look like a raging maniac, if it could make Clarke feel better.

She knew the news would hurt Clarke, but that they could work through anything, together. While her temperament would stay the same for a while, Lexa predicted, at least they could still collaborate with each other. As she pondered the many ways Kevin could probably squish her into a pretzel, Clarke mentioned her favorite talk show, and Lexa had to stop to ask her if she'd heard correctly.

If so, Clarke just announced that she'd talked to Chris Jericho, to get her on "Talk is Jericho".

* * *

 **Smackdown Live**

"Ladies and gentleman, we greet you from Chicago, Illinois," Josh Mathews could be heard overhead.

"The Windy City, I love it here!" Tazz added, extending his arms, as they prepared for an off-kilter episode of Miz TV.

Making his way to the ring, sans Maryse, (something she explained away on social media as nursing an injury) Miz held his own, taking the opportunity granted from Vince, and the Smackdown writers to, in the very least, humble RAW's top Champion.

He gave the fans a moment to settle, before the boos rang out clearly, once he lifted his mic to his lips.

"I sense that I may have stepped on a few toes last week, and wrinkled a few feathers with some of the top brass in the WWE last week," he drawled, hoping his grating voice would wake up the unorthodox crowd, whom he knew couldn't stand him. "Let me make something absolutely clear here, if anyone thinks I'd belittle myself by stepping into a ring with Lexa, uh-uh, ain't happening, bud. She's got her own problems, and I've, well personally, I've moved on."

The audience, not one for bs, or overrated wrestlers in their mind, continued to boo the Miz heartily, as he smiled in their faces.

"Yeah, you see, Lexa's got a whole division of problems, heck, she's got an entire locker room of problems, did you _see_ her last match? Oh yeah, I didn't _either_!"

"Choice words from the Miz here," Josh almost whispered, personally offended by the speech himself.

"Miz might have a point here, let the man speak," Tazz rallied for him. Though he personally didn't like The Miz, he had to promote him, as Smackdown's guy, and a baddie.

"Aside from that, the rumor mill is spinning, and once that train comes around, you all are gonna be wishing you listened to me. Lexa is _overrated_ ," Miz emphasized, endearing himself to the Chicago crowd he knew best. "You all like her, because she's mysterious, she's from NXT, she's such a better wrestler than me, that she can't even step inside this building, because she knows I'm here. Lexa doesn't want any of this! So, without further ado, onto better things, my next guest!"

On cue, John Cena's theme song hit, as the live audience erupted into an even mix of cheers and boos. Breaking the fourth wall as he often did, Cena faced the camera full on, giving an earnest statement.

"I'm not a fan of the rumor mill, and I'm here to clear some things up for the WWE Universe," he spoke into the camera, before directing the camera towards the ring, as he began to jog.

"Off to work," he summarized, as he ran into the ring, theatrics and all, as The Miz looked on in insult.

"Hey, hey, hey!" he shouted over the music, signaling them to cut it off. "I'm sorry, but this is not the John Cena show! You're not my guest for this evening!"

Ignoring him, John addressed the crowd, feigning melodrama.

"You guys would not believe the week we've been having in the WWE! Man, did _you_ see that match? You know, the one with that Superstar, the one I can't name, because someone very important- who's name rhymes with instant chemistry McMahon- made the bonehead decision to fire her? The WWE Universe is in a state of chaos, I tell ya!" John Cena barked. "Michael Cole is the number one contender for the WWE Universal Championship, and someone hacked my Xbox live account! Utter tyranny!"

"I'm sorry, but no one asked you to be here!" Miz raged on, nearly spitting on the Cenation leader.

With a shocked expression, Cena held his heart, as he replied, "Wow, Miz, I was just trying to find somewhere to vent, I thought the WWE Universe was a safe space…"

"I hate to break it to you, John, but Chicago isn't a big fan of the leader of the PG Era," Miz snarled, as John laughed, not selling his promo, drafted straight from the Smackdown writers, all of whom took a paycheck from Vince to bury Lexa at every chance they could get.

"And this fans may hate to break it to you, but I know Chicago wouldn't be mad if I got your loud mouth to shut up!" he shouted, pausing for a tense stare down between himself and the Must See Superstar.

As they spoke amongst themselves, mostly hyping the crowd with tame jeers, Cena could be heard saying "I know you all too well, bud. Haven't forgotten Wrestlemania yet."

Backing down at the suggestion of a fight, Miz reluctantly let him have the floor.

"Now, before I was so _rudely_ interrupted," Cena exaggerated, letting the camera pan to the Miz, who made a face, "I was here to address the State of the WWE. And guys, our WWE Universal Champion, well, is… _controversial_."

Nodding along to the reaction, John held his microphone out to jeers and cheers, boos, and applause, as he mulled them over.

"And in the doghouse," he murmured, as the fans quickly caught on to his meaning. Outside of kayfabe, Clarke and Lexa secretly celebrated their anniversary the night before, only able to send cryptic tweets, and Instagram posts out so as to not tip the fandom off.

On her Twitter, Clarke garnered over 54 thousand likes for a tweet, simply because the caption read "Feeling loved 3".

In turn, Lexa took a picture of the sky at night, captioning her photo with the remark that she was with her "favorite person". Not usually a big fan of social media, Vince accepted this as progress in the 21st century, dropping clues and hints to major fans, that would eventually unfold onscreen.

Ever the forensic experts, the WWE Universe able to link it to Lexa's picture, taken later on in the night using filters and hours of examining the photo to deduce the small pinky in the shot belonged to Clarke. So, naturally, when Cena commented on it, "Lexa's in the doghouse" rather rapidly made it's way on the Trending Topics list.

Clearing his throat, Cena made to amend his statement, as Miz was breaking kayfabe with his scandalous reactions, asking if they were actually gonna go there, tonight. Unimpressed, John trudged on with his promo, visibly rolling his eyes at The Miz.

"Seeing as you were unaware because you weren't watching, before he was F-5'd, and taken out on a stretcher, I'm pretty sure Vince was thinking of firing the WWE Universal Champion. Now, maybe I'm a little pacifist, but whatever he thinks his problem is with the WWE, I'm sure that having the first World Champion to be crowned in their debut isn't one of them."

"Oh, and why's that, because you're President of the Lexa fandom?" Miz jeered, ready to sink his feet into cold water, nearly forgetting who he was talking to, the backstage leader of the locker room.

"I wasn't going to say that," John answered, stiffly, pausing when Lexa's music hit, as his eyes widened.

"It can't be, RAW's WWE Universal Champion? Can it be?" Tazz could be heard freaking out on commentary, as Josh was just as shocked as he was.

"The very first female to hold a World Championship in the WWE, and as Cena said, the only person to win this title in her debut, ladies and gentleman!" Josh hyped, his voice rising with each syllable in excitement, as Lexa came out to the stage, a microphone at her side, as she lifted it to emphatic cheers.

Oh, Chicago.

"Hello boys," Lexa greeted, nonchalantly, as she waited for them to react.

"You look surprised to see me, Miz," she noted, tilting her head mockingly. "You- what did you think, that I'd just let you run me down every week? That's a shame, I thought you were smarter than that. Then again, I've seen your movies, I should've known better."

Personally fond of the Chicago crowd, and knowing their hostile nature, Lexa balked on her routine joke about the town she was currently in. Sure, she could play a heel, something the crowd would instantaneously cheer, because they appreciated true wrestling. Miz was treading into dangerous waters and Cena, well… he was joking about his Xbox account being hacked. She doubted they'd take much of his words to heart, or at least hoped.

"Ah, Clexa, the Ultimate Opportunist," John Cena introduced, as Lexa held her tongue, aware that the man was- despite his blunder- a walking promo, that hardly ever followed a script, choosing instead to beat to his own drum. "We were just talking about you!"

Fed up, Miz gave a loud, mocking har har, cutting off Lexa's response before he addressed her, face to face.

"Yeah, and you know what? It's so fitting that you're here!" he sarcastically added, eyes popping wide for emphasis. "I'm actually glad you're here, no- no, I am. You see, I'm glad that I don't have to talk on this issue anymore, because someone else can spend their time telling you how overrated you are. Meanwhile _I_ can focus on _my_ Intercontinental Title Match, tonight! I told you, I've moved on, and to prove it, my next guest, is your father!"

Playing down Lexa's genuine anger at this, and having not been informed of this himself, John quickly yelped, "Guys, next on Maury! Loudmouth idiot schedules impromptu reunion that doesn't end well! Tune in to see what happens next!"

Yet, the familiar entrance music played, as the crowd instinctively cheered for Titus. In civilian attire, he looked older, somber, and reluctant to face his biological daughter. Backstage nearby, Clarke was biting her fingernails, right down to the nub. Stoically, Lexa looked upon the father, as Tazz so accurately noted, that she hadn't seen in person, since her childhood.

This, she knew, was something of a collaboration between Vince and Clarke. Annoyed with her partner, but grateful for the live mic, Lexa stood, feeling more vulnerable than ever.

Even in character, Miz wasn't cruel as to taunt her, as he knew the hefty punishment that came along with it. Rumors in the locker room quickly spread that Triple H was willing and eager to fire Superstars who refused to work with Lexa, or Clarke, for that matter. Wanting to diffuse the situation, and avoid heat, Miz vacated the ring, handing the mic to Titus with a simple smirk. Oddly enough, Cena remained.

Breaking character, Cena took off his hat, pretending to "settle in".

"No, no, you guys, I _wanna_ hear this," he insisted, as Lexa glanced at him, then the ring ropes, Titus tensely glaring in his direction. While she found it rude, and honestly, unnecessary for him to be there-though she understood _why_ WWE officials wanted him to stay- she didn't comment on it, rather focused on the man in front of her.

"Lexa," Titus' voice wavered, as he nearly marveled at his fully grown daughter.

Not wanting to give him any satisfaction, Lexa held her gaze, her face devoid of emotion. For this stunt, she was so happy with the events planned later in the night. Initially, she'd pushed them to next week's Smackdown, but as Clarke booked her an interview later on in that week, and them both being cleared to give promos, Lexa pushed the envelope to build their rivalry quicker, and hype the fans for Backlash, the first PPV she'd participate in, despite it being a Smackdown PPV, and she, a RAW Superstar.

It wasn't her fault that certain people never cared about their wife's career aspirations.

"Titus," Lexa stated, almost in a finite manner, like the conversation had already ended. However, with a twirl of her microphone, she mulled over the situation, and adapted.

Obviously, Vince wanted to see something that Clarke knew she had in her: some good ole Ruthless Aggression.

"I'm not… here, like The Miz says, to tell you that you're overrated-" he started, innocently enough, but Lexa's rage at the casualness of how he could do so, won out.

"No, don't you _dare_ talk to me like it hasn't been 14 years since I last saw you!" her voice bellowed, throughout the arena. Her body shaking with nervousness, as her voice threatened tears, she pushed past them to direct much of her frustration to its main source: her father.

Wisely, Titus saw fit to lower his microphone, setting himself up for whatever pipe bomb Lexa could throw at him.

"Yeah, that's right, you don't have anything to say," she egged on, furthering her attack. "You walked out on me, so the least you can do is be a man, and _listen_! Because at my graduations, you weren't there. When I was signed to the WWE roster on NXT, _you_ weren't there!" Lexa shouted, jabbing him in the chest with her index finger.

"Now I'm here, and in the span of two weeks, _I've_ made history," Lexa more mumbles that states, not exactly the braggart, but still trying to keep in line with her character. "I have accomplished a lifelong dream of yours, the one you left your family to pursue. The one my mother abandoned me for, because she refused to believe that her rock star of a husband didn't actually want to be a father. You wanted _all_ of the glory, _dad_."

In a rather villainous, prideful moment, Lexa lifted her Championship title, pressing it to his nose in disrespect.

Lowering her voice to a whisper, as she knew she'd captivated the WWE Universe to listen, she stared him dead in the face, mocking him.

"How does it feel to know that all that you worked for, was in vain? Funny, how karma works."

Twisting his face into a scowl, Lexa backed off, remembering her father's anger issues.

The crowd, staunchly booing her, was nearly silenced when she brought this up.

"What- you wanna, you wanna hit me?" she leaned forward, only retreating to elaborate for the people who didn't understand.

"Some of you here probably love my father, and as a legend, I respect his accomplishments in the ring. However, as a human being, I reserve the right to despise him for beating my moth-."

Initially her microphone had cut out, a move Executive of Creative Talent Kevin Dunn quickly made to sort out the damage Lexa was making in the ring to one of their most coveted Superstars, WWE Legend, Titus. However, on Triple H's demand, her mic was reinstated.

In the ring, Lexa tapped her mic, dead, until a few seconds later, when it resonated an echo. Knowing the culprit, she dangerously broke kayfabe, addressing them directly.

"Thanks to whomever decided to cut my mic, nice to know you support domestic abusers."

Eyes widening in concern for what possible repercussions this could ensue, Titus stepped in, telling her off- camera to calm down. Lexa was absolutely livid at this point, and knowing this, let Titus say his piece.

Deciding against easing the tensions of the WWE Universe, standing on its hinges to celebrate a decorated athlete, and a legend in their mind, Titus opted for the truth.

"Lexa, I can't argue with anything you've said," he opened, to the chagrin of The Miz, waiting outside of the ring. "I was a terrible father, and in a bad place. I let you down."

He frowned, and Lexa called what would happen next in a split second.

"No, no, no, no, no! This is not for you to get on your moral high horse, and bait these people for sympathy, because they deserve better than that! This isn't for you to manipulate the situation, just so everyone forgets you _abandoned_ -"

Her own words getting to her- John stepped in, as he was told to segue the promo, and steer it back to their original plans, planting the seeds for a Lexa/Cena program.

"Titus, I- I think you should leave-" he assessed, grabbing the microphone more forcefully than usual, as Miz barked back at them, rather harmlessly. Staring down his fallen hero, John could only empathize with the WWE Universal Champion, as the WWE fans seemed to catch on, as well.

As he checked on Lexa, who was subconsciously nodding along to each of his questions, more focused, as Titus took his leave, she asked for one last word. Cena, still wary of what more she could possibly say, gave her the clear.

More hurt than ever, Lexa made a bold announcement.

"What hurts the most out of all of these things, dad, is that one day, like many people do, I want to get married. And like any girl would wish, I would've wanted my dad to come to my wedding. However, when that day comes, you're not allowed to take part in another piece of my life that brings me happiness. You, are as good as _dead_ to me."

These words, aimed for Clarke to hear, were moving in itself, as she found herself forgiving Lexa despite herself. As they accomplished their goal, the camera quickly flashing to an unpretty sight of Titus on the verge of tears, Cena's jaw dropped, along with The Miz's, at her genuine issue in the matter.

Unceremoniously, Titus took his exit, as John had to tip his cap at the rookie.

"The WWE Universal Champion, everyone," he welcomed, encouraging the fans to clap. "She is raw, passionate, and every bit deserving of the-"

"I don't need the John Cena stamp of approval," Lexa snapped, returning to form rather effortlessly. "My interest in you died when the PG Era arrived, so maybe Miz has a point about you."

For emphasis, the camera focused on John, who took the words to heart, as he bowed his head. Miz, for the matter, cheered on the outside.

"You're not The Guy anymore. And maybe for Smackdown, that's AJ Styles, but in the WWE, that's _me_."

With a deceptive smirk, as John often gave when he felt insulted, he responded in kind.

"Kid, you're hella talented, but if you're suggesting what I think you are-" he wavered a finger, cautiously.

"That Ruthless Aggression you once had is long gone," Lexa stated, remembering her scripted line. "You've lost that loving feeling, that edge of recklessness you used to know. You, John Cena, are the one that's _overrated_."

She knew the line couldn't have hurt that much, Cena contributed to it, and wanted to look like the underdog in this promo. Yet, Lexa couldn't help wondering whether the words were taken seriously, as John appeared to visibly redden, and intensify. The segment usually would continue here, but was left ambiguously open, as Cena dropped his microphone, seemingly unconsciously to square off against Lexa. From behind however, Lexa signaled a bump from The Miz, as he reentered the ring with a mic shot to the back of Cena's head, finishing him off with the Skull Crushing Finale.

While Lexa didn't agree with the idea, she kept to the script, as Miz looked back at her, gesturing towards the 15-time World Champion, selling a slight neck injury. She carefully exited the ring, having successfully introduced her feud with The Miz, and a later storyline with the Cenation leader.

Clarke's intuition, if anything on the matter, was pure genius, as the tv time resonated with the fans, and soon Lexa would overtake Clexa on the Worldwide Twitter Trend List.

* * *

When she returned to her locker, she was met with a blonde blur, her girlfriend, swooping her into a massive hug. Letting her title drop carelessly between them, Lexa accepted the affection happily, in the hopes that Clarke may have forgiven her.

As she returned soft kisses, an amused expression gracing her features, Lexa was obliged to ask what incited her partner's sudden change of mood.

"You want to marry me?" she asked, and with all the tact of a kid letting go of a balloon, Lexa faltered.

"Um… one day, yes," Lexa amended, not sure as to what reaction this would gauge.

"Oh God, don't panic, I know we're not ready yet, but… you want to get married," Clarke answered sweetly, as Lexa realized why she was madly in love with this woman.

"I just told the entire world that I want to marry you." The words felt surreal to even hear, but merely poured out of her, when venting her frustrations to her father. But upon hearing them, Clarke learned that Lexa wasn't merely angry about herself, but rather selflessly for Clarke, and her family. Titus leaving meant that he would never get to meet the love of his daughter's life.

"I want to spend the rest of my life with you," Lexa confessed. "And have a family… if that's what you want. Am I… am I still in the doghouse?"

With a chaste kiss to her lips, Clarke smiled, and confirmed that yes, Lexa still had a long way to forgiveness, but this was a means of bridging the gap.

"You know how I am about trust," she pointed out, watching her girlfriend nod in understanding.

Kissing her forehead, Lexa offered a hand to the WWE Women's Champion. "Fair enough. Wanna meet up with Maryse, or should I just go solo?"

Clarke, shaking her head, took the hand, knowing this was going to be interesting to watch. Maryse wanted to return to the ring in a big way, and with this planned attack, the Women's Champ knew they'd make quite the impact.

* * *

 **Miz vs. Dolph Ziggler, Intercontinental Championship Match**

Josh and Tazz passionately called the well-documented history between Dolph Ziggler and The Miz, each trading blow for blow, signature after signature move, but not yet getting to their Finishing move, Lexa nervously waited in the gorilla position, as Maryse chimed in. Joining the announce team as a guest, Lexa figured a brutal attack would build her character, Maryse strongly opposed this ideal. Agreeing to take the Skull Crushing Finale onstage, she suggested an addendum that nearly got her a fist in the face from Clarke.

After the dust settled, and Lexa vehemently rejected the change, they carried on with their former agreement, Miz agreeing to take the loss to feud for a more prestigious Title.

During the match, Miz was flung towards the ropes facing the announce team, signaling Lexa's interference, as she jumped the barricade, standing rather intimidatingly behind Maryse. Prompted by the announcers, Maryse turned to see Lexa, who was deviously smiling, despite her intentions. Offering a polite hand, the Champion feigned niceties, as Miz, confused, sagely dodged the oncoming attack from Ziggler, felling him, as he exited the ring to investigate.

Swiftly, Lexa grabbed a fistful of Maryse's hair, leading her in the opposite direction around the arena, and up the ramp, as a conflicted Miz decided between giving up his Championship Title, and saving his wife. Ever the heel, he reentered the ring, working on Ziggler, but still checking on the stage ramp from time to time.

At the entrance to the stage, Lexa struck, but not before Maryse did. Pleading for her safety, she played right into Lexa's hands, before distracting the Champion with a kiss.

In genuine shock, Lexa nearly botched the finish, recovering in time to deliver a Skull Crushing Finale, as The Miz had been taken out by the Superkick. Upon replaying the scene, Miz, favoring the back of his neck, seethed with rage as he looked on, charging for the Universal Champion.

Running out of dodge, Lexa ditched the arena in an unmarked vehicle, now the only method of transportation she could use if she wished to travel alongside Clarke. In the car, her less than amused girlfriend folded her arms, while she sought to catch her breath. Lexa already knew what this meant; thanks to Maryse, they were back at square one again.

After this mess of events, Lexa vowed never to work Smackdown Live promotions after her feud with The Miz, ever again.

 **The Smackdown writers strike hard and fast! Look for Clarke to counter this to Lexa's advantage!**

 **What's next!**

 **Clarke finds herself facing Kevin Owens, after reinstating the 24/7 rule!**

 **Seeing the massive following behind them, and upon suggestion, Vince books Clarke and Lexa to pair off against Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens. On paper, the match looks doomed to fail, but the storytelling in it makes each participant look strong.**

 **The Masquerade Ball brings Clexa together, and fans immediately deduce who's who. Clarke's real life friend warns her about Lexa, and from this, they begin working together, much to Lexa's dismay. Raven, Clarke's best friend, was almost more than a friend, and onscreen, their chemistry in promos shine. Clarke's early feuds will often touch on the subject of trust, something Lexa doesn't miss.**

 **The fallout from Smackdown Live will serve for Kevin Dunn to voice his displeasure of Lexa as the WWE Universal Champion to Triple H. Despite her unprofessional conduct, however, and his intense dislike for her, Vince keeps her as Champion, because he sees a major payoff in ratings.**

 **Due to a personal rift, Lexa loses a major match, but gains the respect of the WWE Universe as she's credited by a Superstar for their return. Clarke, in turn, is able to finally forgive Lexa, in the match's aftermath.**


	10. The Call

**Sorry for the wait guys! Here's a short update, till next time!**

 **Smackdown Live! (Parking Lot)**

"Lexa…"

"I didn't know she was going to do that," Lexa blurted, rushing to explain away another unfortunate coincidence, a constant recurring event since she signed to the main roster.

Unfolding her arms, Clarke pensively brushed a thumb against her girlfriend's lip, focused on more pressing matters in her opinion. Checking on the still bruised feature, courtesy of her most hated rival Ontari, she reassured the brunette that no, she wasn't upset.

"I called Vince, he's handling it," Clarke explained softly, upon seeing Lexa's fearful expression entering the car. Nudging her head towards Lexa's phone, she added, "That's probably Mike right now."

' _Mike_?' Lexa mouthed, as she answered the phone, only to realize Clarke meant Mike Mizanin.

"Lexa, you've gotta listen to me, I had no idea she was going to do that-" he started, but she stopped him, before he could devise an excuse, or lie.

"You've encouraged this, the entire time. You and your writing team, made me look weak, if Ontari already didn't. So, what, now you want to cooperate, because they want to fire your wife? There was literally _no_ reason for her doing what she did out there!"

"I know!" he whined, knowing he was conceding a loss to preserve his wife's job. "I know this complicates things, and she honestly went out there for herself, but I didn't- I didn't know what you and Clarke were planning, I'm sorry-"

Her heart beginning to pound at the revelation, Lexa nearly swore.

"Wait, who told you?" she brisquely asked, ready to defend herself or Clarke.

"Hunter did," he replied quickly, in a rapid fire explanation to quell the Champ's rage. "He told me why this ruins things, and Lexa, I swear, I'll play it by the book for this feud, and Backlash. Maryse is already barred from returning to the ring, I just- _please_ , don't do this."

"Why'd she do it?"

She heard a sigh on the other line, as she could hear Miz adjusting the phone.

"I- I don't know. She just said she wanted to do something to make an impact as well, so I wouldn't be lost in the shuffle-"

Clarke settled herself in as the driver started the car, and Lexa began a speech she'd only heard in mutters, and small bits of annoyance when Lexa herself watched Smackdown Live.

"Do you wanna know why your wife did that, Mike? It's because you have no heat, you don't do anything relevant, or say anything _different_. It's been four years since your little "pipebomb", and you're still in the same position you always were, even after being the longest reigning Intercontinental Champion. You're mediocre, bland, and I've seen almost every female Superstar take harder bumps than you. That's why, instead of moving to have Maryse fired, I'm just going to settle for taking the match at Backlash. I never want to work with you again."

Without giving him a chance for an angry rebuttal, or to humbly thank her and apologize, Lexa hung up, setting down her phone.

Taking the moment to fill her in, Clarke relayed a change of plans in their destination.

"We were gonna go filming tonight in the bar, but we went tonight to scope places out. Rough crowds, they don't seem to forget things."

"Still chanting for CM Punk?" Lexa asked, with a devilish smirk.

"Once they saw the logos on the camera crew, that's all they could say. Alexa, Sasha, Asuka and Carmella stopped in, so they knew we were coming, and the manager asked us to leave. I'm gonna have to film sometime this week for my new video, and music," she murmured with a shrug.

"We'll get it all done, Champ," Lexa encouraged, knowing Clarke was slightly disappointed by this small setback.

"Lexa, we had to celebrate the day of our anniversary working. This week, we're not going to get a day off-"

"We'll make some time for us," Lexa promised, taking Clarke's hand and kissing her knuckles, as she donned a puppy-eyed expression. "NXT and chill?"

"I'm still mad at you," Clarke lied, rolling her eyes in fake annoyance, yet failing to hide a grin. Like a shark sensing blood, Lexa seized the opportunity to try and mend fences. She knew Clarke loved her too much not to hold this grudge forever. Or, she at least hoped so.

Nudging her nose against Clarke's cheek, she leaned in cautiously, wanting her to make the first move.

"You can always wrestle me for the remote…"

Knowing exactly what that meant, but not wanting to egg her on, Clarke balked at the statement, playfully teasing her partner.

"Don't start that again," she deflected. "Unless you wanna sleep on the couch tonight-" she joked, the buzz of her phone cutting her off.

"It's Nikki," Clarke stated, scrolling through her phone. "She says she wants to work with me soon, and to- to come to your training session Thursday?"

Not one for secrets- usually- Lexa nodded her head along, wondering why Nikki would bring this up, unless she planned on showing up.

"Yeah, sure babe, you're always welcome to come… But honestly, now I'm wishing you started a feud with Sasha or Charlotte. I mean, that's a little creepy, why does she know when Randy and I train?"

Like a lightbulb went off in both their minds, they answered, in sync.

"The club".

* * *

 **WWE Performance Center, Chicago**

Clarke wasn't sure why Nikki invited her to an event she wasn't going to attend, but if it was to bring light to something she was previously unaware of, the Women's Champion was grateful. After watching several minutes of exchanges between Lexa and Randy, she was ready to thrown down with the WWE vet.

"No- Lexa, it's gotta come out of nowhere!" he barked, before stepping into the ring. "You've gotta, you've gotta find something fast, and efficient, a top rope move's not what you're looking for!"

Taking offense to this, Clarke defended the heavy breathing Lexa, who nearly exhausted a dozen ideas already.

"I think a top rope move should be exactly what she's looking for, considering she gives up a size advantage if she ever faces a male Superstar."

Randy quickly opened his mouth to retort a reply, but held his tongue, realizing this was Lexa's partner.

"That leads to injury rather quickly, and high risk moves aren't what we're looking for, especially when Lexa is portraying a villain, whom, in my mind, wouldn't use a top rope maneuver, because it hypes up the crowd. Not only is it out of character, it's unnecessary," he elaborated, with a slight bass in his voice.

"You could've explained that to her, instead of yelling at her," Clarke continued, refusing to let the matter go.

"This is how I work," Randy countered. "Lexa agreed to work with me under these conditions, and she hasn't complained, has she?"

Truthfully, Lexa wouldn't if she did have any issues. Unfazed, however, Clarke glanced back at him, feeling Lexa watch her and Randy cautiously.

"Clarke, it's just a little frustrating right now, because we only have a week, and its crunch time. Randy's a good guy, we're just going through the motions," she exhaled, taking the second to catch her breath.

Clarke's phone buzzed, to Randy's annoyance, as he felt out of his depth in reprimanding her, but still asked, with a hint of politeness, "I will try productive criticism, if you can take that outside. Fair deal?"

As she saw the call was from her mom, Clarke rushed out of the doors to find a quieter place to talk. She hadn't called her mom in over a week, she was sure as dead meat.

In a rush to get to the call before it would go to voicemail, she fumbled with her phone, settling on a hopefully innocent sounding, "Heyyy."

"Clarke, what's going on with Lexa? Did you guys break up?"

For a second, everything stopped for Clarke. Was this what Nikki was alluding to? Was something going on with Lexa that she wasn't telling-

"Lexa's changed, Clarke, I don't know how I feel about her. I mean, she beat up those guys with weapons, then she knocked out that other chick-"

"Oh," Clarke answered, breathing in relief, as her world came back to her. Because the WWE had some rules they had to abide by, they couldn't discuss things like feuds, or tell who was winning a match. They couldn't reveal any of their debut to Abby, who she was learning, still thought the stories were at least real.

Clarke learned quickly to teach her mom it wasn't when she'd yanked Lexa off of her while they were practicing moves, ready to have the poor girl arrested.

"Mom, that isn't, Lexa's not really like, she's just acting-"

"Oh my goodness," she groaned. Hearing the disappointment in her voice, Clarke let her vent.

"I thought- I thought that maybe fame was changing her. Thank goodness, it's all an act! Can you tell her she's really good? I mean, the mannerisms, the inflection in her voice, her facial expressions. Some of it, it almost sounds, _real_."

Clarke flinched.

"Well, the part about her father, all of that's true," Clarke confessed. "She is his biological daughter."

"…And she never, told you? Did she just not know?"

"Oh, she knew," Clarke answered, coolly.

And Abby knew her daughter, from her tone of voice, wasn't too pleased with the news. Diverting the subject, she brought up a positive.

"Well, you're the Women's Champion! That's got to be a lot of fun!"

"It is," her daughter sighed, before sharing something she'd been fearing, something she didn't even want to tell Lexa.

"Everything is different now. I'm worried about this decision, Lexa and I are going to do big things, I just- I hope it's not in vain."

Staring back at the door, Clarke looked on in almost a daze as her mother kept talking, uttering words of encouragement, as she was unsure of how she felt about this new life, and drastic change. To this end, she scheduled a private meeting with Triple H, Stephanie and Vince later on in the evening, something she didn't let on to Lexa.

The madness, and the crazy train had to stop. Neither Ontari, nor Maryse were effectively punished for their actions, which let the locker room know, they could rattle the young WWE Champion, without fear of retaliation. With an agenda of her own, Clarke enlisted the help of a WWE Superstar whom she knew had her full faith and support, and who wouldn't throw her under the bus.

For Vince, she could help Roman Reigns get over. Granted she'd ask for a few assurances, but she knew this would appease him enough to give up on the match he was clamoring for, to no end. Triple H, while in their corner, may not need any incentive, but to prove she was willing to play game with him, she knew Lexa would help him achieve two things he's wanted to since becoming part owner of the WWE.

Female Superstars main eventing at Wrestlemania? That was a cake walk, and honestly, only had been held up on Vince's part, for not believing in their potential. Whether it was Lexa, Clarke, or any of the Women's Division, this would be happening, no questions asked.

Getting to work with her close personal friend, and put him over as well? Clarke had more reservations about this, but knew in her heart, Lexa could make anyone look good. That, and she was a fan of the Superstar. Aside from Bayley, despite his persona, no one really could hate Tyler Breeze.

 **Next week!**

 **Clarke's 24/7 turns into a bar fight, and Kevin Owens makes good on his promise!**

 **Triple H looks to make an example of Maryse, by punishing The Miz. To avoid this, Vince opens his mind to negotiations. This allows more opportunities to be given to NXT grads, such as Sami Zayn.**

 **Lexa is a special guest on Talk is Jericho! What will she say to one of her biggest idols, who doesn't believe the hype?**

 **Tyler Breeze, at Clarke's request will get the opportunity to grow and build his profile, and work with Lexa. Along with arguing about facing off with her, or Brock, Tyler has his own reservations about the WWE Champion, of which he voices to her.**

 **Vince McMahon buries a beloved Superstar of many members of the club, including Lexa and Clarke. In turn, they bury a favorite Superstar of his, in dramatic fashion.**

 **Lexa's finisher! What did they finally decide on?**

 **Anybody ready for the Prince Pretty/ Clarke Griffin meet up? Are we ready for the King of Cutesville to meet Lexa? Stay tuned!**


	11. Talk Is Jericho

**Talk Is Jericho**

As Jericho's jingle plays before the podcast begins, Lexa bops her head along to the beat, overwhelmed and nervous in the presence of a legend. At the moment, she hates Clarke for putting her on the spot, yet at the same time, couldn't love her more. After all, this was her chance to redeem herself in not only her idol's view, but the entire company.

Lexa didn't come here to make RAW or Smackdown Live the "Lexa Show", as her dissenters were now dubbing it. She came to fulfill a lifelong dream, as well as bring change to the company, one it so desperately needed, even after the immense strides it had made in such a short time.

Introducing himself, Chris Jericho beams about a lovely Friday, and his lovely guest, the fresh face of the WWE, the Universal Champion, The WWE's current Enigma, is she friend, is she a foe? He remembered her from NXT, but in a different light, as many of the WWE Universe also did. Jericho highlighted that he would ask the tough questions, and address the question many people wanted answered, if nepotism was alive and well (while personally rejecting this idea himself), or if backstage politics played a role. Regardless, he himself wanted to hear it from The Woman, and the _new_ Face that Runs the Place, RAW's WWE Universal Champion, Lexa!

"Wow, that was a lot of names you ticked off there," Lexa joked, after hearing Jericho's clip, grateful that a radio podcast prevented the broadcast of her blushing profusely at his praise.

"You've done so much in so little time, the fans _demanded_ this. And when I say demanded, I mean just shy of banging on my door demanded. You broke down the door when you made your main roster debut, and from everyone that's worked with you, all I've heard is, that I haven't seen anything yet. The fans weren't just satisfied with that, they wanted to figure out this enigma, of who is Lexa, and to be honest, so did I. We know that you've been crowned Superstar of the Year, and had incredible, amazing matches with fine storytelling. I think a lot of your fan base, they already knew, you had something, but I guess none of us expected what has played out this past month. With all of this hype surrounding you, to obtain such a high position in such a short amount of time, you have to be something special, and I think many people are intrigued by this, and a little rattled as well. Lexa is here, ladies and gentleman, and hopefully here to answer some of the burning questions. They wanna know you, the WWE Champ, formerly a bright star on NXT, certainly a shoe-in for the main roster when you were there, but I have to ask, where did this all come from?"

Another reason Lexa was grateful for the lack of cameras? Clarke's presence, as she felt a reassuring squeeze of her hand, and a reminder, that this was just a chat, not a promo. She could have a conversation with the larger than life Ayatolla of Rock and Rolla.

"Oh wow, uh, where do I start?" Lexa started, before adding, in a low voice, "No pressure," to kid along with the fans, earning herself a chuckle from Jericho.

"No pressure, I promise Vince won't come over and yell at you," he reassured her, segueing her into one of her talking points.

"That's good to know, he's been yelling at me since I got here," she deadpanned, taking a sip of water to clear her throat while Jericho made a face, impressed at her brazen attitude.

"Wo-ho, I can see why he likes you so much!"

"No really, I think he hates me. I feel like the only reason I'm here is because Hunter has my contract locked up somewhere in the Disney Vault-"

"The Disney Vault!" he snorted, almost on cue with Clarke. Comfortable enough to continue with jokes, Lexa settled in, with a bit more confidence than before.

"Yeah, I'm very superstitious, and recently I've been told, that I spend too much time looking into conspiracy theories. So, yeah, I think the vault's real, yeah," Lexa finished, with a smirk directed at her girlfriend.

"So, if you ever wanted to watch The Lion King…?" he goaded, confusing the young Champion, before she caught on to his running joke.

"Oh, for sure, I'd break into it. I mean, it'd be a long time since I last broke into something, but I'd hope these kind of skills are like riding a bike, and not competing for an Olympic event."

Clarke pouted, recalling this event in harsher light than the WWE Champion probably remembered. Countering this with an apologetic look, Lexa whispered something apologetic in her ear, juggling between this, and listening to Jericho's response.

"Rough childhood?"

"Abandoned at birth, typical orphan story, until I turned eight," she answered succinctly.

"What happened at eight?"

"I got into a fight, and lost to this bully named Luna. It was the worst night of my life."

"Schoolyard bullies?" His surprise didn't go unnoticed; Lexa followed his every mannerism, from him leaning in to engage more, and thoughtfully rubbing his chin.

"Schoolyard bullies," Lexa concurred. "It was a rough time. Trish and Lita were retiring, people were starting to hate John Cena, and here I was, getting my butt handed to me by this- nerd. I had to do something. I mean, you know how the schoolyard rep goes, I had to defend my honor."

"I'm guessing it was Smackdown Live, after school addition? You get into a scuffle behind the bleachers? Maybe hit a move off one of them?" he played along, in anticipation for her feel-good ending to her story.

"I wish I could say that," she answered, sucking her teeth. "Actually, she beat me up plenty of times, I got my ass handed to me more than once. What got me, was this one time, someone stood up for me."

"Someone stood up for you?"

"Yeah, this girl stepped in front of me, grappled the girl, and did an arm drag takedown, like it was nothing. Like she was just riding a bike. I was so just, in awe of what she did, and stupefied, all I could think was, 'wow, I wish _I_ knew how to do that!'"

"Wait, so this girl just comes up to defend your honor, takes down your arch nemesis rival school bully, and that, that wasn't the end of it, right? She did let you know who she was, right?"

"She absolutely did," Lexa proudly beamed, her smile stretched ear-to-ear like a Cheshire Cat at the memory.

"And who was it?" Jericho excitedly asked.

"You won't believe me if I tell you," Lexa admitted, that warm feeling in her gut warning her, she was straying into dangerous territory. She let caution to the wind, however, because this wasn't scripted, this was about her life, her real one, that included the woman sitting next to her.

"C'mon, you know we need to tell Vince to sign that prodigy! This woman might still be out there in this world, watching out for bullies she can execute an armbar on."

"Hold number 12, Armbar!" Lexa exclaimed, a throwback to one of Jericho's old WCW promos.

"Oh my gosh, how old were you when I said that?" Chris lit up, impressed with her knowledge, considering how old the reference was.

"I just turned one…?" she hesitantly admitted.

"Oh, wow. That didn't make me feel old at all," he quipped, smiling to let her know he wasn't fazed in the least.

"I'm sorry. I don't want to make you feel patronized by saying you were one of my inspirations to become a WWE Superstar, but I would be lying if I didn't say that. And, to answer your previous question, that girl who defended me is already in the WWE. So, dreams do come true."

"Really?"

It wasn't mocking, so Lexa, with a look to Clarke for affirmation, turned back, and answered.

"Yeah. You were one of my favorites, I loved to cheer you, but I loved booing you as well!"

"And the schoolyard hero?"

"She's currently the RAW WWE Women's Champion."

"No way, Clarke Griffin-! Ladies and gentleman, I know you can't see this, but Clarke is actually here with us today in the studio, because, well, she's awesome and she's always welcome here. Clarke, would you like to give your take of events on how this all unfolded? Were you, would you say, the slingshot in this David vs. Goliath story?" he goaded, encouraging her to speak, or in the least, greet the many listeners tuning in.

"I'd like to forget that ever happened," Clarke remarked, finding it was now her turn to flush a shade of red. "My mom grounded me for the longest time after that incident, because Luna's mother told me I almost broke her arm."

"So then, as the prodigy Zen master that you were, you took your collective knowledge, and bestowed it onto Lexa, I presume then?"

This was the Jericho gimmick, and Clarke navigated it warily, amused by his antics, but also eager to portray Lexa, along with herself in a good light.

"We trained together. Initially, I was learning something that I loved, I couldn't tell you why, but the ring felt like home to me, and soon, it became Lexa's home. Because of her upbringing, and her struggles, she didn't exactly have the opportunities I did, so when my parents gave the green light for her to train with me, it became her livelihood, and purpose. I think that's still the person the fans see on WWE RAW, and Smackdown Live, a raw fighter, someone real."

"The two of you seem to know each other well," Jericho noted, careful to tread on any lines. He didn't know much, but he knew this was a pro wrestling podcast, not a gossip blog. Speculation like that had no place in this interview.

Plus, the two were entertaining, and likable, something he could see rubbing off on WWE's stubborn former CEO, Vince McMahon.

"Clarke and I have gone through the circuits together," Lexa responded, an easy and believable explanation. "Every step of our careers we've taken, we've taken them together. You've seen NXT, and WWE. Our first night, we became Champions in our main roster debuts. To me, there was no distinction, or who had the ' _more prestigious_ ' Title win. That night, we were both Champions, and it was something special."

They officially approached "the subject", the one that now made Chris uncomfortable asking, why she felt she was in the position she was placed in. Was it Titus, or did they see something no one else did?

"Speaking of that night, your debuts, that's touching on the very subject on everyone's minds, the trending topic, so to speak," he spoke, craftily wording himself to make it clear that this wasn't malicious at all. "Everyone just thought, this was very sudden. A lot of the boys, I have to be honest, felt their spot was ripped from them, by some new person, regardless of if you were man or woman. You have to understand, that these people, a lot of them are lifers. Your NXT buddies, power to them, they'll support you, because you all grow together, and you're all good sports. A win for someone in NXT is a win for everyone in NXT. The WWE, it's a lot more competitive, so when you see this environment, where there is some resentment, this is why it is there. I just wanted to ask, do you have any response to this, I guess you could say, criticism?"

Licking her lips, Lexa took the question in fully, very aware of her once in a lifetime opportunity, and the perks that came with it.

"Many people came into the company with the words I'm going to say right now, to be the very best. Without a shadow of a doubt, if Vince didn't think I was worth the trouble, he would have taken RAW off of the air on my first night and sent me packing. Honestly, I think he secretly likes the controversy, and everything my character is surrounded with. I like the many roles I have, being the Champion, getting a storyline with Miz, my father. They liked that angle, it's something very relatable."

"And your kinship with Clarke, you two sound very similar to Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn. And from the sounds of it, many fans were clamoring for the two of you to face one another."

Shaking her head, Clarke disagreed.

"That's not happening. Guys, you don't want me to embarrass your WWE Universal Champion. At least let me try to get my job back, will ya?"

"Who's saying I wouldn't embarrass you?" Lexa rebutted, feigning offense. "First off, everyone and their mom knows, you're getting your job back. I've already written up a petition. Second, I know more moves than you."

"Can you execute half of them?"

"Wrestlemania 37, Clarke vs Lexa in the Main Event for the WWE Universal Championship! Book it Vince!"

"Yeah, book it Vince!" Lexa played along, before quickly reverting to herself. "No really, I love Clarke. As much as I would love to see that dream match with everyone else, I wouldn't want to fight someone I'm close to. I mean, yeah, I hate everyone else, but I don't hate Clarke," she muttered.

"Aww," Clarke gushed, batting her eyes for comedic effect, as Lexa shook her head.

"She's going to make me regret saying that."

"You can't unsay it, you're live on Talk is Jericho!" Clarke warned her, seriously.

"You two have insane chemistry in the ring. I have seen the two of you tag before in NXT, where you were both successful as a unit, and singles competitors. Is that something you're going to bring to the main roster, or now that Lexa decided to join the Dark Side, you have to scrap it?" he ribbed, playfully, with a wink to Clarke.

"Now, now, Chris, the Dark Side, well, they had cookies."

"You didn't have to eat them!" Clarke gasped, exaggeratedly.

"What happened to giving me the silent treatment? I was starting to like being in the doghouse!"

"You enjoy the silent treatment, so I decided to give you the gift of meee! Drink it in, mannn!" Clarke immaturely responded, sticking her tongue out, and blowing a raspberry at the WWE Champion.

In truth, this was probably a rocky subject, but jokes meant that they were okay, and could at least laugh about things. If they were silent, then Lexa would be in trouble.

"Oh my goodness, that was the best impression of me that I have ever heard! Clarke, I've always loved your Enzuigiri kick, that you unfortunately couldn't make your Finisher, but that just takes the cake!"

Groaning for effect, Lexa leaned into the mic. "My fave loves Clarke. I hate my life."

"It's okay Lexa, you can have Kevin Owens," Clarke reassured her.

"What, are you guys fantasy drafting your favorite Superstars?" Jericho chimed in. "Just remember, Clarke, I was the first ever Undisputed Champion in history."

"Lexa doesn't let me forget."

"And you will never… eveeeerrrr! Be the same, again!" Lexa screeched, in her best mock impression of Jericho, garnering herself some golf claps.

"Okay Vince, you win, I don't care if Lexa is the WWE Champion for the next decade, she's good in my book. Any Jerichoholic can tear it up out there."

"It's funny, because I'm not anything like what Vince sees in a Champion," Lexa confessed, clearing her throat to elaborate more on the subject. "Much like when you started, he's pretty much gone toe to toe with me on everything I wanted to do. Any plans I make, he's a critic. I mean, he's the boss, so yeah, he's gonna get a voice, but he totally thought this would tank. He still, as we speak right now, is probably somewhere in Stanford, CT, talking to himself like, ' _I can't wait until Lexa isn't Champion anymore. She's so annoying!_ ' And I swear, I don't try to be," she chuckled.

Amused by this, Clarke cut in, to take her defense, and set the record straight.

"No, you just try to take what is there, and make the best of it. I can't even joke about it, because it's so true, there's so many restrictions on her-"

Perturbed by this, Jericho prompted Clarke to explain further. The pieces slowly forming, Jericho could sense a small pattern building as Lexa and Clarke melded their stories together. If this was typical Vince, holding back a Superstar from their greatest potential, and portraying it as him being the victim, his previous opinion of the Champion were extremely misguided, to say the least.

"Wait, so he books you to win the WWE Universal Championship, something that in this industry, _no one_ has ever done, and at the same time he _doesn't_ want her to hold the title? I mean, of course I don't want to earn you any backlash by spoiling anything, but this sounds like- almost, it's as if you're a paper Champion, to put a check in the box. This isn't the case, is it?"

"I can't say who's going to win, or what's going to happen at Backlash, or even Hell In a Cell, heck, not even this Monday, but I hope it isn't the case. There are some interesting things in the works with my character, as well as Clarke's, that I think work better if I am Champion. I think we bring value to the company, because we truly love it, and if we didn't, or they didn't believe we did, then we wouldn't be in the positions we're in," Lexa clarified.

"Mmm," Clarke agreed. "Like, next week. We have, a match idea, you know, if Vince decides to rehire me at any point. Myself and Lexa against Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens. That's happening."

"Wait, that's happening?" Jericho questioned, nearly flabbergasted. "Wha- what inspired that? I mean, because all due respect ladies, with the storytelling, and the storylines, that deviates from what I felt I've been seeing. I mean, last week, the Lexa/Ontari match felt like a one-off in itself."

"That should have never happened," the brunette blurted out, stopping herself short of burying the demoted Superstar. "She really went after me in that match, so I had to improvise, and in the middle, I had to switch everything up, because she was just, she was just being entirely uncooperative."

"Yeah, those were real shots in there," Clarke confirmed for Jericho, who she observed lifting his head at the story, the wheels racing in his mind. "And near the end of it, she was actually thinking of using my Finisher, for some reason, to slight Lexa. I mean, I didn't care, but she probably would've fell on her head. I wouldn't have wanted that."

"That would really suck," Lexa lied through her teeth, earning a chuckle from Chris.

"You're kindof mean," he added, despite continuing to laugh.

"She busted my lip, I could've been a hell of a lot meaner," Lexa answered ruefully, Clarke nudging her to be a little kinder to the podcast host, and living legend.

"True."

"And I agreed to a match, that was Clarke's idea, to face Kevin and Sami. So, maybe she's mean, and I'm merely misunderstood."

Taking the comment to further the question he had about this match, Jericho deferred to Clarke for an answer.

"Well, then seeing as this was your idea, can you shed some light on this phenomena, and maybe some of Lexa's story? I mean, why fight with the boys? I feel as if this is a regression of sorts, it could possibly backfire and send a negative message, but it sounds like Kevin and Sami, they're cool guys, they'll support you. Why is this match necessary in your mind? I think the WWE Universe finds you two to be talented athletes, it'd be foolish to say otherwise. Yet, I have to say, personally, I wouldn't want to be put in a position where I'd have to fight _either_ of you. Do you, do you see where I'm going with this?"

"Oh yeah," Clarke nodded along, taking the question for Lexa, who got much of the heat for this, and was still trying to figure out answers along the way to this question.

"Without a doubt, I'm sure Lexa wants every person she faces to look strong, and not like, 'Oh, you just got beat up by a girl.' The whole point of this story, is to shatter that entire thought process, to make us equals. And of course, we're not here to encourage, you know, domestic violence. That's something really weird I read this morning, and I just have to say right off the bat, just, no. We took the story on, to say 'hey, we're just as good as the guys, we can hang with them'. Kevin and Sami, this match, I can just say, it's just going to be unexpected. If people have preconceptions about what's going to happen, all I can say is, they should probably see it for themselves."

"Lexa?" Jericho prompted, as Lexa let out an audible sigh.

Lexa snorted, taken aback by the call out. She didn't expect him to want anything more, and when pressed to come up, froze on the spot.

"Agh, I'm trying to think of something I can say that Clarke hasn't said already! Ah, yes! So, everything Clarke said, that is very true, I agree wholeheartedly. This didn't come from a place of negativity, or wanting to make anyone look weak. But, there's also some things going on behind the scenes, that I _can't_ talk about. They kindof help fit all of the puzzle pieces together to form the image, but I can't say anything. And I know it sucks, and leaves the fans annoyed, because it's not really telling you anything-"

Playing Devil's Advocate, Jericho pleaded, "C'mon, you can't leave your Lexaholics in limbo like this! Give them an easter egg, a crumb or something!"

Lexa opened her mouth to speak, but thought against it, and shiftily wiggled her eyebrows instead.

"Who says I haven't done that already?"

Thoroughly amused at her and Clarke's evil grin, Chris gave them props, wagging his finger at the both of them.

"Well played, Evil One, well played…"

"No really, I have," Lexa insisted. "There's some hints here and there, but very soon, people will see it, and it's something that I'm proud to be a part of. I'm happy to say it's never been done before in the WWE, so I hope people consider this when they criticize me now, because I believe it'll all make sense in the long run."

From his frown, they could tell he wasn't entirely enthusiastic with not so much as a sound bite to go off on, as he'd have to try and find a speck in that crumb to satisfy his hunger for answers. This didn't exactly qualm his doubts about Lexa deserving to be the face of the company in such record time, despite her changing his initial view of her. She was still a kid, for all intents and purposes, being hailed as the top competitor, and representing the entire brand to fans, executives, and shareholders.

With a puppy-eyed expression that could rival Lexa's, Jericho again tried to appeal to the more talkative of the two, and the wildcard in their talk, Clarke.

"Clarke, I will punch Vincent Kennedy McMahon in the face for you, and get you reinstated, and put you in the WWE Universal Title picture if you tell me what's going on."

The room was quiet for a second, as Clarke gaped at him for a second, mulling over his ridiculous proposal.

"Wait, you can punch your own boss, and I get fired?" she replied, accosted.

In his defense, Jericho casually answered, "We taunt each other all the time, he says he's gonna kick my ass so much, it's become a term of endearment. Maybe he fired you, because he didn't know how else to tell you he was so impressed with your match."

"Fat chance," Lexa blurted out in character, pretending to sneer. Unbeknownst to the listeners, one of Jericho's crew members handed Clarke a large permanent marker, and a notebook, whispering instructions into her ear. She appeared to listen intently, before whispering back, and turning to Chris with a thumbs up

Before she could ask, Clarke let her in on what was about to happen.

"For all of the lovely listeners of this podcast, one of my audio guys just handed Clarke some paper and pen, and she's decided to write, in as little words as she can, what this storyline is. Now, I've sworn to keep this a secret, but, if it's really good, guys, you know. I will let you know, somehow, someway, I will try to telepathically send the signal to your neural synapses to indicate how awesome it is."

"… And I may or may not have promised Clarke a tour bus," he muttered, his voice dissipating into near pin drop silence. "Anywho! Do we have a deal?"

Lexa didn't have to move, but merely look to her right, as Clarke held up the notebook with the words "Clarke+Lexa= #Clexa."

"Cle, whaaat? - All due respect Clarke, honey, I don't think that's a word, and only stupid idiots like Miz use hashtags, sweetheart. You're much better than that, and is that?" he squinted, an unnecessary, but nonetheless funny gesture, "Is that an algebra equation? That's not fair, I don't even like Common Core!"

Lexa set her head down on Jericho's studio table, as she could have been visibly shaking with mirth, hiding her reddening face from the decorated athlete in front of her. Meanwhile, Clarke, between howling bouts of laughter, scribbled down the most watered down version of events.

Now, her notebook simply read "LGBT Storyline."

His smile dissipating, and morphing into something more serious, all Jericho could say in that moment was "Oh."

Clarke and Lexa both stiffened, unsure of what kindof assessment "oh" was supposed to be, and prepared for the worst.

In a second, his previously unreadable expression became pure shock, and marvel, as he clarified.

"Ohh…"

"Ladies and gentleman, Clarke Griffin is the new owner of a tour bus! You get a tour bus, and you get a tour bus! Everybody gets a tour bussss … if I was Oprah, but I don't have that kind of money, so please forgive me for not being a billionaire," he sing-sung, in mock expression.

"No way, are you serious?" Clarke exclaimed, more than asked, as she clasped a hand to her mouth in disbelief.

"Well, I'm not gonna give it to Lexa, Junior!" he announced in his infectiously charismatic voice, before softening his tone. "But I mean, man, that is, wow. I can see why you're having a hard time now with Vince, Lexa, sheesh!"

On cue, Lexa returned to the conversation, as she was settling back, letting Clarke and her hero have the spotlight for a moment.

"That's actually a good chunk of the reason I was hired. I know people were speculating after RAW that it was because of my dad, but Vince, he learned that at the same time everyone else did. He just knew about this storyline, and he's been going along with it. Against the grain, most of the time, but, he's- he's on board with it."

"Oh he'll be on board with it, now that I know. He has my phone number and address, if I'm not a WWE Superstar next week, you'll officially know he's not on board, I'm serious-"

He cut away to show them his phone, a steady pace of text messages and one missed call from their boss.

"We've got plenty of time for stories, do you wanna hear the time I once almost flew out to punch Vince McMahon in the face?"

As their gazes fell upon each other, they realized they gained a new ally, and support in the long-time WWE vet. In tandem, they enthusiastically and unanimously agreed to hear one of Jericho's entirely true, albeit zany, and possibly exaggerated stories. It was well worth it to receive the approval of one of the greatest of all time.

Under the table, Lexa's hand comfortably reached for Clarke's, as she laced them together. In the corner of her eye, she saw her pull out her phone, and spotted a flash of worry on the blonde's face.

Instantly, Clarke recovered, hastily sending a message, and quickly shutting her phone off, a swift signal that she probably didn't get good news.

Against her own personal rules about PDA, she ran her thumbs over Clarke's knuckles, and found the Champion to be newly distracted. As Jericho relayed his story, she watched Clarke try to engage, and immerse herself in the story to detract from whatever was going on in her headspace. It was only when Clarke squeezed her hand back, that Lexa could let this go, with the confirmation that her girlfriend was still, very much present.

But, much like Jericho, Lexa hated not knowing things. What, or maybe more specifically, _who_ , could be bothering Clarke?

 **What's next!**

 **Lexa creates a bookend feud when she faces Octavia on Monday Night RAW, for the WWE Universal Championship! Expect to see her new Finisher show up, not in this match, but her bout with The Miz!**

 **Vince is not happy when he finds out that Bayley is set up to headline two title matches, for the WWE Women's Championship and the WWE Universal Championship. Matters aren't helped when he learns that Lexa's next feud is not with someone in the Women's Division, but a Superstar whom he believes has no business in the main event picture, Tyler Breeze.**

 **Clexa becomes more prominent with each week, as Lexa and Clarke are pressed for time. In this time, Lexa proposes a Wrestlemania main event match, that Clarke agrees to.**

 **Clarke vs Kevin Owens, for the Women's Championship? Sami Zayn, the number one contender for the WWE Universal Title? How in the world did this happen?!**

 **Thanks for all of the support, and feel free to comment/review! :)**


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